EEOC Compels UPenn For Information in Antisemitism Probe (1)

The EEOC is asking a federal judge to order the University of Pennsylvania to produce lists of employees and student groups associated with Jewish studies or activities as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitic harassment at the school.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday it moved to compel the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to push the university to share information as part of an investigation launched by Republican Chair Andrea Lucas in December 2023.

Lucas and the EEOC under the Trump administration have focused on religious discrimination and charges of antisemitism at higher education institutions.

The EEOC’s subpoena seeks information about identification of witnesses to and victims of religious-based harassment. It also asks for contact information for members of organizations related to the Jewish faith and for employees in the Jewish studies program.

A spokesperson for UPenn said in a statement it worked diligently to combat antisemitism and cooperated “extensively” with the EEOC.

The university objected to providing personal and confidential information of Jewish employees without their consent and over employee’s objections, the spokesperson said. The school provided over 100 documents totaling nearing 900 pages, but has not turned over lists of Jewish employees, Jewish student employees and those associated with Jewish organizations.

“Violating their privacy and trust is antithetical to ensuring Penn’s Jewish community feels protected and safe,” the university spokesperson said in its statement.

The charge filed by Lucas alleged the university subjected its faculty and staff to antisemitic harassment and failed to effectively address complaints of such conduct.

“The EEOC remains steadfast in its commitment to combating workplace antisemitism and seeks to identify employees who may have experienced antisemitic harassment. Unfortunately, the employer continues to refuse to identify members of its workforce who may have been subjected to this unlawful conduct,” Lucas said in a statement.

Several commissioner charges Lucas filed to launch investigations of antisemitism at college campuses have been made public. One filed at Columbia University was part of a $221 million deal the college reached with the administration, including $21 million to the EEOC.

Charges were also filed at Barnard College, professors at the school confirmed when they received text messages with surveys asking them if they are Jewish or Israeli as part of the agency’s probe into alleged campus antisemitism.

Most of the EEOC’s caseload involves charges filed by members of the public, but individual commissioners are also able to file confidential charges that can lead to investigations.

A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is EEOC v. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, E.D. Pa., No. 2:25-cv-06502, 11/18/25.