UPenn faculty challenge EEOC demand for personal information on Jewish students and staff

Faculty groups at the University of Pennsylvania have moved to block a federal demand for personal information about Jewish professors, staff and students, warning that the request risks violating constitutional protections and carries troubling historical implications.

The dispute centres on a subpoena issued by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has sought names, email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses of Jewish members of the university community as part of what the agency says is an effort to investigate antisemitism on campus.

Jewish faculty and staff groups have condemned the demand as a threat to personal safety and civil liberties, arguing that the creation of what they describe as a centralised registry of Jewish individuals is incompatible with basic protections of privacy, religion and association.

Faculty groups move to intervene in court

According to The Guardian, the EEOC sued the University of Pennsylvania in November after the university declined to fully comply with the subpoena. On Tuesday, several faculty and academic organisations filed a motion in federal court in Philadelphia seeking to intervene in the case.

The groups include the national and University of Pennsylvania chapters of the American Association of University Professors, the university’s Jewish Law Students Association, the Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty, and the American Academy of Jewish Research.

Constitutional concerns and historical memory

In court filings cited by The Guardian, the groups said the federal request would require the university to compile and hand over a comprehensive list of Jewish students, faculty and staff. They argued that such a demand intrudes on rights protected under the First Amendment and exposes individuals to potential harm.

“We are entering territory that should shock every single one of us,” said Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund, during a press call reported by The Guardian.

Legal representation and government response

The fund is representing the faculty groups alongside the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the law firm Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin and Schiller.

Eisen said that information collected under the subpoena could be misused, regardless of the stated purpose of the investigation. “This is an abuse of government power that drags us back to some of the darkest chapters in our history,” he said, according to The Guardian.

Campus investigations after the Gaza war

The University of Pennsylvania is among dozens of universities that came under federal scrutiny following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Federal agencies launched investigations into allegations of antisemitism on campuses across the United States.

In response, the university created a task force to examine antisemitism, implemented new measures, and provided extensive documentation to federal authorities.

Why the university refused the subpoena

However, it refused to comply with a July subpoena seeking personal information about Jewish faculty, students and staff, including individuals affiliated with Jewish organisations who had not consented to disclosure.

The subpoena also sought the names of people who participated in confidential listening sessions or received surveys conducted by the university’s antisemitism task force.

A university spokesperson said in November that turning over such information would violate trust and undermine efforts to ensure that Jewish members of the Penn community feel safe.

EEOC says refusal obstructs investigation

Instead, the university offered to notify employees of the federal investigation and invited those who wished to participate to contact the commission directly.

The EEOC said that approach was insufficient. At the time, the agency’s chair, Andrea Lucas, said the commission remained committed to investigating workplace antisemitism and needed access to potential witnesses and victims.

She said an employer’s refusal to identify employees who may have experienced harassment obstructs the agency’s ability to investigate, according to The Guardian.

Jewish faculty describe fear and vulnerability

The request has prompted alarm among Jewish faculty and organisations within the university. It has also drawn criticism from campus Jewish groups, including Hillel.

Steven Weitzman, a professor in the university’s religious studies department and a member of the antisemitism task force, said that the demand itself has had a chilling effect.

“Part of what sets off alarm bells for people like me is a history of people using Jewish lists against Jews,” Weitzman said, The Guardian reports.

Earlier EEOC actions raise broader concerns

Beth Wenger, a professor of Jewish history at the university, said Jewish studies scholars are acutely aware of the risks associated with collecting such data, The Guardian reports.

The case is not the first to raise concerns about the EEOC’s methods. Last year, the commission contacted employees of Barnard College, the women’s college affiliated with Columbia University, via text message, asking recipients to complete a survey that included questions about whether they identified as Jewish or Israeli.
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