Judge Sides with Trump Administration in Court Battle with Federal Employees
A federal judge has ruled in favor of President Donald Trump, dismissing a lawsuit from federal employees who claimed that thier privacy was violated by the administration’s use of a mass email system to contact all federal workers. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss denied their request for a temporary restraining order against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), stating that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient evidence that their email addresses where at risk of exposure.The email in question was sent from the OPM to inform employees about a “distribution and response list” test, aiming to ensure all government employees could receive and respond to communications. The lawsuit, spurred by concerns surrounding the lack of a Privacy Impact Statement, was ultimately deemed to rely on speculation rather than concrete risk. Additionally, the OPM has been encouraging a streamlined federal workforce by offering a “deferred resignation” option, which has seen a significant number of employees accept as part of the government’s workforce reduction efforts.
President Donald Trump was handed a legal win on Monday when a federal judge ruled against federal employees claiming privacy violations after the administration sent a mass .
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss denied a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Office of Personnel Management from using the “Government-Wide System” to contact all federal employees, according to Fox News.
The lawsuit claimed, using the [email protected] address to contact the federal workforce marked a threat to the security of workers, breaking protocol since the administration failed to issue a Privacy Impact Statement, an argument which Moss rejected.
“Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that their .gov addresses (which reveal their names and, possibly, their places of employment) are at imminent risk of exposure outside the United States government — much less that this risk is a result of OPM’s failure to conduct an adequate PIA,” Moss wrote, per Fox.
Moss added that the arguments rely “on a highly attenuated chain of possibilities.”
The complaint said, federal employees received an from [email protected] saying that the Office of Personnel Management was testing a “distribution and response list.”
“The goal of these tests is to confirm that an can be sent and replied to by all government employees,” one of the s said, according to the lawsuit.
The Office of Personnel Management recently sent another mass to most of the federal workforce, offering them a “fork in the road” by means of a “deferred resignation.”
Trump officials warned that the new federal workforce would be heavily reformed to emphasize merit and excellence, as well as see changes such a return to five days per week in the office.
They also hinted at future downsizing of various agencies.
Those uncomfortable with that new arrangement could accept “deferred resignation,” letting them “retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload.”
An exemption from “all applicable in-person work requirements” would meanwhile last through the end of September.
The described the program as “paid administrative leave.”
Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, has along with Trump emphasized the need to downsize the federal workforce.
That mass prompted the lawsuit considered by Moss, according to Bloomberg Law.
The outlet noted that some 75,000 workers, representing about 3 percent of the total federal workforce, which exceeds 2.4 million civilians, ultimately took the offer.
The size of the federal government, therefore, fell to 2023 levels.
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