International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, et al. v. United States Department of the Treasury, et al.

Protect Democracy is challenging the illegal access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans by representatives of “DOGE”.

The lawsuit alleges that the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management, and Department of Education are violating the Privacy Act by providing DOGE representatives access to vast databases containing Social Security numbers, financial information, and other personal data without proper authorization or safeguards.

“We’re watching in real time as seemingly unvetted Trump officials break the law to get access to Americans’ most sensitive and personal data,” said Kristy Parker, lead counsel for the case. “It’s particularly concerning that they could use their access to snoop on vast amounts of Americans’ data and try to use what they find to enrich themselves, reward their allies, and punish their critics.”

Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs are a coalition of individual veterans who have served in various branches of the military and unions representing teachers, scientists, engineers, and workers from across the federal government, including:

• American Federation of Teachers
• National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

Background

The plaintiffs allege that after DOGE gained sweeping access to Treasury payment systems that process tax refunds, veterans’ benefits, and Social Security payments, at least nine of those DOGE agents had broad access to the private information of millions of federal employees and job applicants.

DOGE is reportedly transferring sensitive Education Department data to highly risky external artificial intelligence systems for analysis.

And, according to internal Treasury Department documents, the department’s in-house threat-analysis team designated DOGE as an “inside threat” and warned that it “likely poses the single greatest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

The lawsuit asks the court to intervene to:

• Stop unauthorized and illegal access to Americans’ protected personal information.
• Ensure retrieval or destruction of improperly disclosed records.
• Restore proper Privacy Act protections for sensitive government databases.

Case Documents

Case Documents