Policy & regulation
Court Rules OPM's Disclosure of Federal Employee Records to DOGE Was Unlawful, EFF Says
A federal court in New York has ruled that the US Office of Personnel Management violated the Privacy Act when it disclosed millions of federal employee records to DOGE agents, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The summary judgment found breaches of provisions on both inter-agency disclosure and record security.
A federal court in New York has ruled that the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) acted unlawfully when it disclosed millions of federal employee records to agents of DOGE, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
In a summary judgment ruling issued on October 20, 2026, the court found that OPM violated two provisions of the Privacy Act. The first provision restricts the disclosure of personal records between government agencies, while the second requires agencies to protect the security and confidentiality of the records they maintain.
The EFF, which reported the decision, described it as a victory for data privacy. The case challenged OPM's disclosures to DOGE agents involving personal records held on millions of federal employees.
According to the EFF, the situation has shifted considerably since the case was filed. Many of the DOGE agents involved have since left the government, and OPM has rescinded their access to its databases.
The ruling speaks to the legality of inter-agency data sharing under US privacy law. The Privacy Act limits how federal agencies may disclose records containing personal information, and separately obliges them to safeguard the security and confidentiality of those records. The court's finding that OPM breached both provisions means the disclosures failed on both the sharing and the safeguarding requirements, according to the EFF's account.
Further details of the ruling, including any remedies ordered by the court, were not included in the EFF's announcement. The organization framed the outcome as confirmation that agencies remain bound by statutory privacy protections when handling employee records.
Source: EFF Updates
