Judge says Penn must turn over information about Jewish employees in discrimination probe

AP News • March 31, 2026 • general

Key Points:

A federal judge ordered the University of Pennsylvania to provide records about Jewish employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for an antisemitic discrimination investigation, but the university does not have to disclose employees' affiliations with specific Jewish groups.
The judge allowed employees to refuse participation but emphasized the EEOC's need to directly interview potential witnesses or victims to gather evidence of discrimination, setting a compliance deadline of May 1.
The university plans to appeal, citing concerns over privacy and First Amendment rights, and stated it does not maintain employee lists by religion; it also highlighted that comparing the EEOC’s actions to Nazi practices was inappropriate.
The judge exempted three Jewish organizations—MEOR, Penn Hillel, and Chabad Lubavitch House—from the subpoena due to their legal and financial separation from the university and concerns about privacy.
The EEOC investigation was prompted by multiple antisemitic incidents on campus, including vandalism and hateful graffiti, and also examines the university's handling of protests related to the Gaza conflict.

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