USDA employees sue over Easter message, alleging church-state separation violation

A federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California claims Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has adopted a pattern of sending proselytizing religious messages to USDA’s roughly 90,000 employees, highlighted by an Easter note praising Jesus. The suit argues this government-endorsed messaging coerces employees, excludes non-Christians, and violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act; it seeks to bar such religious communications and declare them unlawful, with backing from the National Federation of Federal Employees and allied groups.