A coalition of labor unions, led by the American Federation of Teachers, has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, seeking to prevent them from accessing private data at the Education Department, Treasury Department, and Office of Personnel Management. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws by allowing Musk’s team access to systems with personal information on millions of Americans without their consent.
DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, has recently cut $900 million in contracts at the Education Department, deeming them a waste of taxpayer money. These cuts will not affect core operations at the Institute of Education Sciences, including the NAEP exam and College Scorecard. The AFT lawsuit warns of safety risks to personal data, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and home addresses, that has been shared with Musk’s team.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the Privacy Act by handing over sensitive data for purposes beyond its intended use. Trump has previously expressed a desire to close the Education Department and transfer its authority to states and schools, while Musk has denied the department’s existence. The lawsuit seeks to stop Musk’s team from accessing data and calls for the destruction of any records already disclosed.
The AFT, representing 1.8 million workers, is supported in the lawsuit by individuals with sensitive information stored in federal systems, as well as other organizations such as the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. A separate lawsuit on behalf of the University of California Student Association also seeks to halt Musk’s access to Education Department systems.
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