Federal Judge Rules OPM Unlawfully Disclosed Federal Workers' Personal Data to DOGE

A U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) unlawfully violated the Privacy Act by granting the Department of Government Ethics (DOGE) broad access to sensitive personal records of millions of current, former, and prospective federal employees. The court found that OPM broke two provisions of the Privacy Act related to sharing and securing personal records, deeming OPM's decision to grant access without demonstrated need as unlawful.