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A Maryland federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Education and Office of Personnel Management from sharing sensitive personal information with affiliates of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman ruled on Monday that the plaintiffs—including military veterans and unions representing millions of teachers, federal employees, scientists, and engineers—demonstrated they would likely suffer “irreparable harm” without injunctive relief.
In her 33-page ruling, Judge Boardman found that the plaintiffs had shown the Education Department and OPM “likely violated the Privacy Act by disclosing their personal information to DOGE affiliates without their consent.”
“This is a significant decision that puts a firewall between actors whom we believe lack the legitimacy and authority to access Americans’ personal data and are using it inappropriately, without any safeguards,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “We brought this case to uphold people’s privacy, because when people give their financial and other personal information to the federal government—namely to secure financial aid for their kids to go to college, or to get a student loan—they expect that data to be protected and used for the reasons it was intended, not appropriated for other means.”
The judge noted that DOGE affiliates have been granted access to systems containing highly sensitive data—including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, income and assets, citizenship status, and disability status—without adequate justification.
“Today, the court agreed with our claim that DOGE affiliates do not need to access Americans’ highly sensitive and private data to do their jobs. This ruling is an important step in protecting Americans’ right to privacy from people who may not have appropriate authority to access it and who may not be using it properly or with adequate safeguards,” said Kristy Parker, counsel at Protect Democracy, which represents the plaintiffs.
The court specifically noted that “none of these workplace reform measures” allegedly contemplated by the executive orders covering DOGE “appears to require” OPM and Department of Education employees “to access records with the sensitive personal information of current and formal federal employees.”
The temporary restraining order, effective until March 10, 2025:
- Prevents the Education Department from disclosing personally identifiable information to any DOGE affiliates
- Prevents OPM from disclosing personally identifiable information to any OPM employee working principally on the DOGE agenda (with the exception of OPM Chief Information Officer Greg Hogan)
- Denies the plaintiffs’ request for relief against the Treasury Department, noting that a previous injunction in another case already provides protection
The ruling represents the most wide-ranging block on DOGE’s activities to date and could potentially impact the administration’s efforts to restructure federal agencies.