US EditionFederal worker union sues over Education Department shutdown emails
The American Federation of Government Employees alleges the Trump administration altered employees' email auto-replies without consent to push partisan blame during the shutdown, affecting 87% of staff.
- A federal workers' union sued the Department of Education on October 3, 2025, over altered out-of-office emails including partisan language blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
- The lawsuit follows the shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations after the House passed a clean continuing resolution on September 10, 2025, which Senate Democrats blocked.
- About 87% of the Education Department’s workforce is furloughed, core operations paused, investigations into civil rights complaints halted, and new federal grants suspended during the shutdown.
- AFGE President Everett Kelley called the changes a violation of employees’ First Amendment rights and said, "This is beyond outrageous," while Democracy Forward CEO Skye Perryman urged the court to act immediately.
- The lawsuit and union statements suggest the administration is misusing government infrastructure to shift the shutdown blame while furloughed employees suffer financially and student aid continues with some disruptions possible.
52 Articles
52 Articles
Administration sued for changing employees' automated shutdown emails
A federal workers’ union filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education on Friday for changing the Department’s employees’ automated emails to include partisan language about the government shutdown. The American Federation of Government Employees, which is represented by the Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group, sent a cease-and-desist letter and filed a lawsuit against the DOE over the political language included in its …
Fed Union Sues DOE Over Partisan Out-of-Office Messages
A federal employee union is suing the Department of Education over altered out-of-office messages sent on behalf of furloughed workers which blame Democrats for the government shutdown, reported NBC News.
The Press of Atlantic City
The blame game is on at federal agencies, where political messages fault Dems for shutdown
Far more partisan than the straightforward alerts that typically grace agency websites during shutdowns, the messages are in keeping with Trump's pattern of requiring loyalty and obedience at all levels of government.
Union Sues DOE Over Partisan Out-of-Office Messages
A federal employee union is suing the Department of Education over altered out-of-office messages sent on behalf of furloughed workers which blame Democrats for the government shutdown, reported NBC News. "This whole-of-government approach to partisan messaging is unprecedented, and it makes a mockery of statutory prohibitions like the Hatch Act," the complaint by the American Federation of Government Employees states. "Especially pernicious, ho…
Labor union sues to stop Trump from blaming Democrats for shutdown in fed employees' emails
The largest federal labor union sued the Education Department on Friday, accusing it of a free speech violation by inserting language into employees' emails blaming the government shutdown on Democrats.
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