The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California and is part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and seven USDA employees. The plaintiffs allege that Rollins violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by repeatedly using her official position to send explicitly Christian messages to approximately 100,000 USDA employees. They argue that USDA employees constitute a “captive audience” because official emails from the Secretary contain important workplace announcements, which leaves employees with little practical ability to ignore them. They further alleged that the emails made employees of diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds feel excluded or pressured to conceal their beliefs. That same guidance also protects personal religious expression by federal employees as them exercising their right to free speech.