Union sues Feds over claims of partisan automatic emails

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(The Center Square) — The nation's largest federal workers' union sued the Trump administration, accusing it of violating employees' free speech rights by rewriting their out-of-office emails to blame Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees, represented by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed a lawsuit Friday against the U.S. Department of Education, stating that the department is “[f]orcing civil servants to speak on behalf of the political leadership’s partisan agenda,” which the lawsuit claims is a violation of the federal employees' First Amendment rights. 

Since last Wednesday, the U.S. government has been partially shut down after senators failed to pass a funding stopgap on Tuesday evening. Democrats withheld the votes necessary for the Republicans’ Continuing Resolution to pass, triggering the shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1.

When The Center Square reached out to the press secretary and deputy press secretary at the Education Department for a comment, two different automatic emails were sent back: 

“The Department employee you have contacted is currently in furlough status. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations. The employee you have contacted will respond to emails once government functions resume,” the deputy press secretary's email stated.  

According to the Department’s contingency plan, about 87% of the agency’s employees were expected to be furloughed.

“Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government due to a lapse in appropriations," the press secretary's email stated. "I will respond to your message if it is allowable as an excepted activity or as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit ED.gov for the latest information on the Department’s operational status."

According to the lawsuit, employees at the department were not told or given consent that the automatic emails had been changed. 

"Without giving notice to their employees, let alone obtaining their consent, the Department of Education has replaced employees’ out-of-office email messages with partisan language that blames ‘Democrat Senators’ for the shutdown,” the lawsuit said. “Employees are now forced to involuntarily parrot the Trump Administration’s talking points with emails sent out in their names."

Similar language can be seen on government websites referring to the “Radical Left Democrat shutdown” for why the government is currently shut down. Pages 4-7 of the lawsuit shows the website messages.

One hour after The Center Square requested a comment from the Education Department and received those automatic emails, the Madi Biedermann, the department's deputy assistant secretary for communications, responded to The Center Square with a statement. 

“The email reminds those who reach out to Department of Education employees that we cannot respond because Senate Democrats are refusing to vote for a clean CR and fund the government," Biedermann said. "Where’s the lie?”

The union said it's a matter of free speech.

“Federal employees already are suffering financially by going without a salary due to this politically motivated government shutdown,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement. “Now the administration has directly and deliberately violated the First Amendment rights of furloughed workers at the Department of Education by replacing their out-of-office email messages with partisan political language without the employees’ consent.

“Our union will not stand silent while President Trump and his political puppets blatantly violate the law in yet another assault on federal workers’ rights,” Kelley added.