Federal employee unions expand lawsuit to Musk firing threat if they don't justify work

A group of federal employee unions Sunday expanded its existing lawsuit to challenge Elon Musk’s threat that federal employees will face termination unless they send an email justifying their work last week.

It marks the first legal challenge to the governmentwide email sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which instructs employees to respond with five accomplishments by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday.

The updated lawsuit claims the initiative “has not complied with any procedural requirements” under the Administrative Procedure Act, such as first providing a notice-and-comment period.

“Prior to February 22, 2025, no notice was published, in the Federal Register or anywhere else, regarding any OPM program, rule, policy, or regulation requiring all federal employees to provide a report regarding their work to OPM,” the amended complaint states.

As the deadline approached, multiple federal agencies told employees to not yet respond, including the Pentagon, FBI and State Department.

The unions filed the lawsuit last week in the federal district court in San Francisco’s, and it originally focused on the Trump administration’s efforts to fire employees in their probationary period across the federal government. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge William Alsup, an appointee of former President Clinton.

The plaintiffs include multiple unions that represent government employees, such as the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, and an organization comprising current and former National Park Service employees.

The case is one of more than 90 lawsuits challenging major Trump administration actions since he began his second term last month.

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