The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Deaf Equality, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and Massachusetts Senior Action Council, along with individual plaintiffs, filed a federal lawsuit today against the Social Security Administration (SSA), Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek, DOGE Acting Administrator Amy Gleason, and Elon Musk in his de facto role as head of DOGE. The lawsuit alleges that recent mass staffing reductions, policies requiring individuals to seek services in person at field offices, and the elimination of critical offices within the SSA unlawfully harm Americans with disabilities and older adults who rely on Social Security services. Plaintiffs are represented by Brown Goldstein & Levy partner Eve Hill and Justice in Aging litigation director Regan Bailey.
Filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the complaint seeks emergency, declaratory and injunctive relief to halt the dismantling of the SSA’s infrastructure, including the abrupt closures of the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity (OCREO) and the Office of Transformation (OT), and the termination of 7,000 SSA employees.
“The Social Security Administration is being gutted without regard to existing law, without transparency, and without any obvious plan as to how services will be provided to applicants and beneficiaries going forward,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “Many blind Americans rely on Social Security benefits for their survival and for the support of their families. Given the technology and transportation challenges many of us face, the dramatic reduction in force, and the new so-called anti-fraud requirements will work significant hardship or deny access to benefits altogether. In the most severe cases, these cuts could endanger people’s very lives. The National Federation of the Blind supports greater government efficiency and recognizes that much can be done to improve the SSA, but careful planning and collaboration with blind Americans and other disability advocates are the right ways to handle reform.”
At the center of the lawsuit is the allegation that the federal government has undertaken a campaign to “reform” the SSA by gutting the very infrastructure designed to ensure fairness, accessibility, and timely delivery of benefits.
“Americans with disabilities deserve a functioning Social Security system, not arbitrary shutdowns and inaccessible service,” said AAPD President and CEO Maria Town. “We filed this lawsuit because disabled Americans are already suffering—and without urgent court intervention, the harm will only grow. Even before efforts by DOGE and the administration to weaken SSA, approximately 30,000 disabled people died in 2023 while waiting for their SSDI application to be approved. Working Americans pay into Social Security for their entire career because they recognize the protections of SSI and SSDI are part of our moral obligation to one another. These benefits have been funded by working American taxpayers with the understanding the funds will protect their futures and their communities. Making SSA harder to access is not only denying disabled Americans their right to access that protection, it is theft.”
Howard Rosenblum, founder and Chair of Deaf Equality, said “Our Federal Government is abandoning people with disabilities, and this lawsuit seeks to hold it accountable by asking the Federal Courts to restore the government’s obligations to us. The SSA is a lifeline for millions of people with disabilities including Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened Americans. By throwing out essential services, the Federal Government is disregarding its legal responsibilities and failing to protect these American individuals who rely on these programs. Many of these Americans have dedicated a lifetime of work and service, only to be disrespected and disserved when they need support the most.”
“Social Security has been lifting seniors, people with disabilities, and survivor children out of poverty for nearly 90 years. It is the benefits we have earned and represents a contract between generations,” stated Rosa Bentley, President of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council. “We cannot look away as the Trump Administration, Elon Musk and DOGE push forward aggressive personnel cuts and operational changes that undermine access to our earned benefits and demonstrate a complete disregard for the hard-working people of this nation.”
The plaintiffs argue that the mass restructuring violates the Rehabilitation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and multiple constitutional provisions, including due process and the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances. With more than 1.1 million disability claims already pending, and thousands dying or going bankrupt each year awaiting decisions, the plaintiffs allege that the SSA’s recent actions are both unlawful and life-threatening.
Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said “Under the influence of Trump, Musk and DOGE, the leadership of the Social Security Administration has been recklessly slashing services, offices, and staff. These harmful policies have already hindered our members and supporters (mostly seniors, people with disabilities, and their families) from collecting the benefits they have paid for.”
Plaintiffs are requesting that the Court reverse the closures of OCREO and OT, halt all staffing reductions, reinstate employees who were wrongfully terminated, and roll back the policies that require in-person appointments.
ABOUT EVE HILL
Eve Hill is one of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, known especially for her work with clients with disabilities and LGBTQ+ clients. She has been recognized by Law360 as one of just 12 “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” for 2023, as well as by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America (2022, 2023 and 2024). Her wide-ranging experience complements Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s decades of dedication to high-impact disability rights cases and its advocacy on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families. Eve also leads Inclusivity, BGL’s Strategic Consulting Group, which works with organizations to promote the education, engagement, and employment of people with disabilities. Learn more about Eve here.
ABOUT BROWN GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Founded in 1982, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
