On Friday, the DC Circuit held that two groups of federal workers can move forward with class action lawsuits against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) over a 2015 data breach that exposed the personal information of 22 million people.The district court had dismissed the case, holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing and had failed to state a claim. The appellate court reversed.
As The Hill esplains: "According to the appeals court, the data breach left the plaintiffs vulnerable to identity theft, a substantial and ongoing "injury" that can be traced back to OPM's failure to adequately safeguard its systems. Hackers in 2014 began stealing personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, fingerprints and addresses from OPM, which functions as the federal government's human resources department. In the years since, federal workers affected by the breach have reported various types of identity theft, including credit cards being opened and fraudulent tax returns in their name, according to the lawsuit."
The DC Circuit's decision is here. The Hill article is here.
