Democracy Forward represents major labor organizations—including American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Communications Workers of America (CWA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—alongside the Economic Policy Institute, Virginia Poverty Law Center, and Economic Action Maryland Fund. 

These organizations filed an emergency lawsuit to prevent DOGE from accessing highly sensitive labor and economic data. 

Since the start of the second Trump administration, DOGE has worked to unilaterally dismantle and restructure key federal agencies, often outside the bounds of legal and democratic oversight. Within weeks of President Trump’s return to office, DOGE seized control of sensitive systems at the Treasury Department, took over personnel data at the Office of Personnel Management, and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development.

DOGE staff then turned their attention to the Department of Labor—threatening to expose and misuse confidential worker and economic data.

The Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data is critical to economic policymaking and labor protections. Unauthorized access to these records would jeopardize personal privacy and worker rights and risk destabilizing financial markets. 

This case seeks to block DOGE from unlawfully accessing and misusing federal labor and economic data, protect the privacy and security of millions of workers and families, and expose the extent of DOGE’s actions and hold those responsible accountable.

This is the first case to obtain discovery into DOGE’s data access at agencies, which showed that agencies are being forced to provide DOGE unfettered access and ignore the protections they have in place to protect Americans’ sensitive records.

Latest Developments:

• February 27, 2025 — The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for discovery, marking the first judicial decision to require accountability from DOGE. This allows labor organizations to collect key evidence, including depositions and document disclosures, to determine whether DOGE unlawfully accessed or retained confidential data.
• March 19, 2025 — A federal court denied the government’s attempt to block discovery in the case, clearing the way for plaintiffs to investigate DOGE’s data access and internal operations. In its decision, the court wasted no time dismantling the government’s defense, writing that its latest evidence “is not the panacea they hoped it would be” and cautioning that the ever-evolving nature of DOGE’s structure “does not compel the Court to reconsider its order.”

Case: AFL-CIO et al. v. DOL et al