Musk's DOGE operation sued over effort to "intimidate and threaten" Department of Labor employees

A coalition of federal employee unions led by Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in an effort to block the South African billionaire and his team from accessing and potentially tampering with Department of Labor databases.

According to the lawsuit, DOGE — a quasi-governmental entity that has already slashed its way through multiple federal agencies in the name of cutting wasteful spending — on Tuesday ordered Labor Department employees to hand over sensitive data and access to computer systems or "risk termination." Employees said that they were told to "do whatever they ask, not to push back, not to ask questions" whenever Musk and his team visited the department and provide access to any department of labor system even if they had to follow security protocols, per the complaint.

“DOGE seeks to gain access to sensitive systems before courts can stop them, dismantle agencies before Congress can assert its prerogatives in the federal budget, and intimidate and threaten employees who stand in their way, worrying about the consequences later,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed by an array of federal labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of Labor, Congress of Industrial Organizations and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It asks a federal court to block DOGE from unlawfully accessing department of labor systems and information, and also from retaliating against any worker who refuses to accept their demands.

Another lawsuit was filed by the liberal nonprofit Public Citizen on behalf of the AFL-CIO and others to block DOGE from accessing Treasury Department systems and information. The judge in that case signed off on an agreement Thursday to temporarily limit DOGE from sharing data outside of the department. DOGE has also seized access of systems at USAID and the Office of Personnel and Management, among other federal agencies.