Federal employee union sues over out-of-office messages sent on behalf of furloughed workers

(CNN) - The nation’s largest federal employee union is suing the Department of Education.

The American Federation of Government Employees filed the lawsuit Friday arguing the department violated employees’ First Amendment rights.

The dispute is over automatic out-of-office email messages that were sent from furloughed workers’ accounts without their consent.

These messages blamed democrats for the government shutdown.

The lawsuit asks the court to block the Education Department from continuing the practice.

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