Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—EEOC seeks enforcement of subpoena in University of Pennsylvania antisemitism investigation, (Nov 19, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The EEOC alleged the university allowed antisemitic harassment against its faculty and staff to escalate, instead of taking prompt and effective measures to end it.

The EEOC has filed an action in federal court to enforce a subpoena it issued during its investigation into alleged antisemitic harassment at the University of Pennsylvania. After attempting to obtain voluntary compliance with its investigatory requests, the EEOC filed the enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Antisemitism allegations. The investigation followed a charge filed in December 2023 by then-Commissioner Andrea Lucas. The EEOC alleges the university subjected its Jewish faculty and staff to a hostile work environment based on national origin, religion, and/or race by allowing antisemitic harassment in its workplaces. The memorandum cites statements from witnesses who describe “swastikas drawn on our walls, hateful antisemitic messages projected on our buildings, disturbing emails threatening violence to individuals purely based on their Jewish and other identities, viral videos of people spewing hateful rhetoric or ripping down posters.” The university failed to effectively address complaints of harassment, the EEOC alleges, and failed to take prompt and effective measures to end the harassment, instead allowing it to escalate.

Subpoena. The EEOC issued a subpoena to the university to request identification of and contact information for witnesses and victims of the harassment after the university refused to fully respond to the EEOC’s request for information. The EEOC requested that the court issue an order to show cause directing the university to explain why an order should not be issued requiring it to comply with the EEOC’s subpoena in its entirety. Upon return of the order to show cause, the EEOC requested that the court issue an order enforcing the subpoena in its entirety and directing the university to produce all information sought in the subpoena.

“The EEOC remains steadfast in its commitment to combatting 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 press release. “An employer’s obstruction of efforts to identify witnesses and victims undermines the EEOC’s ability to investigate harassment. In such cases, we will seek court intervention to secure full cooperation.”

The case is No. 2:25-cv-06502.

Companies: University of Pennsylvania

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