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WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau violated the Privacy Act when it disclosed employee records to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a lawsuit filed Sunday by the National Treasury Employees Union. 

NTEU, which represents over 1,000 frontline employees at CFPB, said employees did not consent to the disclosure, which has put their private health records, personnel actions, insurance coverage, and other sensitive data into the hands of people who are not employees or officers at CFPB. 

“Employees are understandably concerned that this disclosure will lead to threats, intimidation and retaliation from the administration,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “DOGE has been openly hostile to federal employees across government, so we have no reason to believe that their personal information is safe with people whose stated goal is to harass them into quitting or firing them outright.” 

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, demands that CFPB stop illegally granting access and disclosing employee records to DOGE. The defendant is Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget and the Acting Director of CFPB. 

“CFPB has a statutory responsibility to protect the information that it collects and maintains about its employees from unlawful disclosure to third parties,” the lawsuit states. “The Bureau has acted contrary to law and regulation by granting DOGE and its members access to the records that the Bureau collects and maintains about every CFPB employee.” 

The lawsuit alleges that the disclosures do not fall into one of the exceptions outlined in the Privacy Act. 

“These employees face irreparable harm to their privacy interests if their employee information is improperly accessed and/or disseminated by individuals associated with DOGE,” it states.  

“Once an employee’s personnel information is improperly disclosed, the harm to the employee cannot be undone.”  

Leaders of NTEU’s chapter at CFPB are also concerned that DOGE will use the information to target union members. 

Frontline employees at CFPB are committed to making sure financial products Americans use every day—such as credit cards, automotive financing, and home mortgages—are fair, transparent, and competitive. The agency also has a special focus on protecting military servicemembers from mistakes in their credit histories and fraudulent practices related to their frequent relocations.  

As of December, CFPB has distributed more than $21 billion in financial relief to nearly 200 million Americans, including $363 million associated with harm to American military servicemembers and veterans. Since its creation in 2011, CFPB has received 6.8 million complaints from consumers, including 4.6 million about credit reporting; 83,000 complaints about medical debt collection; and 96,000 complaints about student loans. 

Greenwald also expressed outrage at the decision to close CFPB’s office in Washington for the next week and order employees to halt work. 

“We filed this lawsuit to protect the CFPB employees who have dedica

ted their careers to public service, and also to protect everyone who uses a credit card, finances the purchase of a car or takes out a home mortgage,” Greenwald said. “Without CFPB employees, those financial transactions can become more opaque, less fair and ripe for fraud, especially for seniors and veterans.” 

NTEU represents employees in 37 federal agencies and offices.