Unions Sue Musk Over “Job Justification” Email to Federal Workers
Federal employees are suing Elon Musk after he sent a controversial email demanding that the entire workforce justify their roles by the end of the week or risk being fired from their positions.
The lawsuit, filed by unions, businesses, veterans and advocacy organizations, alleges that the email sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breaches federal workforce regulations and exceeds the office’s authority. The filing also alleges Musk violated the law with his demand.
The State Democracy Defenders Fund, an organization spearheading the lawsuit, described the threat of widespread firings as “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”
On Friday, federal employees received an email asking them to provide a list of five accomplishments from the past workweek without disclosing any classified information. However, multiple agency heads, including those appointed by Trump, advised staff to not respond, leaving them confused and unsure of what to do.
Musk shared on X that he was acting on instructions from President Donald Trump.
“All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
Thousands of public health personnel at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) received contradictory orders regarding the email over the weekend.
An email obtained by the BBC reveals that workers were first instructed to review and reply to the message by Monday after receiving confirmation that it was legitimate. Soon after, HHS employees were told to “pause” activities related to the email since department heads were trying to determine how to work with the administration. As of Monday, staff members are still waiting for a clear directive.
One HHS worker told BBC, “They’re succeeding in driving us insane.” Several federal employees have reported considering minor acts of defiance or malicious compliance, including replying to emails with tasks such as answering hate mail and firing their colleagues.
In a coordinated effort, the US Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and Federal Bureau of Investigation have advised their personnel against replying to the email, which set a deadline for Monday night. The current leadership consists entirely of individuals appointed by Trump and those who have demonstrated loyalty to him.
Department of Defense official Darin Selnick released a statement on X on Sunday that instructed staff to “please pause any response” to the email.
“The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures. When and if required, the department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week.’”
Several federal agencies have followed suit. The Department of Transportation, however, told its employees to abide by the email’s instructions.
Amid the turmoil, Musk displayed no indication of relenting via his posts on X.
“EXTREMELY troubling that some parts of government think this is TOO MUCH!! What is wrong with them??”
Over the weekend, Musk encountered backlash from several Republican politicians, such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who labeled the communication as an “absurd weekend email” in a post on X.
“If Elon Musk truly wants to understand what federal workers accomplished over the past week, he should get to know each department and agency and learn about the jobs he’s trying to cut.”
The White House voiced its disapproval of the lawsuit, with Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly implying that the workers may be evading responding.
“In the time it took these employees on taxpayer-funded salaries to file a frivolous lawsuit, they could have briefly recapped their accomplishments to their managers, as is common in the private sector, 100 times over.”
Trump supporters, such as republican Rep. Tim Burchett from Tennessee, have lauded the proposal requiring government employees to account for their performance. “I think it’s a great idea; you do it in private business all the time. You have to have accountability,” he said.
The new lawsuit builds on a previous one filed last week in California, which aims to challenge the Trump administration’s agenda of mass firing federal workers.
The updated filing claims that “No OPM rule, regulation, policy, or program has ever, in the history of the United States, purported to require all federal workers to submit reports to OPM.”
Prominent federal employee unions, such as the American Federation of Government Employees, alongside advocacy organizations, including Vote Vets, are involved in the lawsuit. The State Democracy Defenders Fund and the California-based Altshuler Berzon law firm are representing the group.
Musk’s recent strategy to reduce the number of federal employees has sparked worries about the potential exposure of classified information.
American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley wrote to OPM leadership, “Federal employees have a duty to ensure that sensitive information, data, and records are only used and disclosed for authorized purposes.”
Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been rapidly implementing bold measures to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Government employees have been inundated with emails from the Office of Personnel Management containing threats of layoffs, proposals for buyouts with ambiguous conditions, dismissals of probationary staff, and directives for managers to compile lists of employees targeted for cuts.
The recent initiatives have ignited frustration among federal employees and prompted a wave of legal challenges, yet this latest directive has faced public opposition from within the agency’s own leadership.
Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, labeled the email as “yet another example of the new administration’s contempt for public servants and public service that will lead to further confusion, anxiety and waste.”
“Demanding federal employees to summarize their work week in five bullet points by Monday evening or face termination is a counterproductive distraction that OPM legally cannot even act on. Our government’s main mission is to serve the public and keep us safe, and unnecessarily terrorizing the two million workers responsible for this ultimately puts us all at risk. There are many strategic, productive ways to make our government more effective that don’t involve scaring our civil servants, and I urge DOGE and OPM to instead partner with them and consult their deep expertise in their efforts to reform our government.”
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.