A coalition of unions representing government, public and private sector employees sued the Department of Labor and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency on Wednesday to block access to sensitive worker data and trade secret information on Musk’s corporate competitors.
The lawsuit comes amid a swirl of controversy regarding efforts by Musk and members of his DOGE organization to cut federal spending, size down the federal workforce and readjust or outright close certain government agencies — efforts that have sparked an ever-increasing amount of litigation.
The unions, joined by the Economic Policy Institute, warn in the lawsuit that Musk and DOGE have violated several laws, such as constitutional limits on executive power, employment laws protecting civil servant and protections for government data regarding hundreds of millions of Americans.
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, said in a statement Wednesday that Musk’s “hacking” of the Treasury payment systems and Office of Personnel Management databases were “reckless, illegal and unconstitutional.”
“DOGE is trying to override the laws passed by Congress by essentially hacking the nation’s checkbook and canceling the spending they don’t like,” Shierholz said. “This is profoundly undemocratic. This is also genuinely dangerous for the well-being of typical families — the cuts DOGE decides to unilaterally impose and the chaos they create will cause real economic pain.”
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