California State University is caught between a federal government eager to investigate alleged antisemitism and employees concerned about privacy.
That dilemma has landed the nation’s largest four-year public university in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where labor unions representing employees around the 22-campus system are waiting to see if they can win the support of a Superior Court judge — or perhaps reach an agreement with CSU itself — to allay members’ fears of harassment and surveillance by the Trump administration.
Faculty members, a graduate teaching assistant, and a supervisor in a campus facilities department are among the employees who have filed declarations in state court, saying they are worried that Cal State will put their scholarships and well-being at risk by handing over personal information like cellphone numbers and email addresses to federal agencies. Their lawsuit seeking to require CSU to notify employees if it receives federal requests for such information in the future is being heard by Judge Stephen Goorvitch. The parties plan to hold a conference with the judge as soon as next week, a spokesperson for the faculty union said.
The nine sworn statements, filed by employees from San Bernardino to Humboldt County in early November, show the fallout after CSU revealed in September that it is the subject of a systemwide investigation into allegations of antisemitism and a hostile environment by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC has filed one complaint related to that investigation, but CSU anticipates others will follow.
Separately, Cal State alerted Cal State LA employees in September that it had complied with an EEOC subpoena related to a January complaint against the campus of roughly 22,000 students. The subpoena sought the contact information of all Cal State LA faculty and staff in connection with an investigation that also hinges on allegations of antisemitism.
The California Faculty Association (CFA) sued the California State University Board of Trustees in October, later adding Teamsters and United Auto Workers units at CSU as fellow plaintiffs. The unions said in court filings that prompt notification of future federal subpoenas would give employees the opportunity to object and attempt to intervene if they don’t want their information shared with the federal government.
The conflict between Cal State and the employee unions comes amid a sweeping campaign by the White House to crack down on colleges and universities that it accuses of fostering political views with which it disagrees, including protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and supporting the rights of transgender students. The University of California system and the University of Pennsylvania are among the colleges facing EEOC investigations alleging a hostile work environment for Jewish employees.
Cal State says it has not received a subpoena related to the systemwide EEOC investigation and that there have not been any findings, settlement discussions or other federal actions in regard to it. The EEOC did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Judge Goorvitch on Friday was scheduled to weigh the unions’ request for a preliminary injunction. The court ultimately did not issue a decision and will instead accept additional briefing from CSU, said university system spokesperson Jason Maymon. A status conference on the matter is set for next week, CFA spokesperson Kenyon Farrow said.
A balancing act for Cal State
The systemwide EEOC investigation poses a subtle balancing act for Cal State, which has said it will cooperate in good faith with federal investigators while seeking to protect its employees’ privacy. “Fulfilling our legal obligations does not mean surrendering our rights or agreeing with the allegations,” the university system advises on a frequently asked questions webpage. “CSU is required by law to cooperate with an EEOC investigation, but cooperation does not mean that CSU accepts the allegations as true or automatically provides everything that is requested.”
At Cal State LA, the university system has said it filed a petition to modify the subpoena, narrowing its original scope to exclude home addresses and details about why employees left the university. But Cal State LA ultimately provided information, including employees’ names, genders, race and ethnicity, personal phone number, personal email and work sites.
In November, Cal State filed a brief opposing the unions’ motion for a preliminary injunction, which the unions have since revised. Attorneys for the university system argued that federal law preempts state privacy protections and that its disclosure of information to a federal agency was permitted under state law.
Employees cite ‘fear and intimidation’
Sworn statements by employees at Cal State LA depict what one described as an atmosphere of “fear and intimidation” on campus since employees learned that their personal contact information had been shared with the EEOC.
Philosophy master’s student Eric Phipps said that shortly after CSU alerted employees about the disclosures, his professor and classmates in a course related to gender “expressed fears that their participation in the course could cause them to be targeted by the federal government and that CSU would not protect them.”
Phipps, who works as an instructional student assistant, is now second-guessing whether to pursue a career in academia. “I feel that academic freedom is no longer guaranteed, and I am now hesitant to publish my thesis because of the political views expressed therein,” he wrote.
Faculty also worried that future federal requests would seek private emails with students and colleagues, or other information about their teaching, social media use and political activism.
Cal State LA professor Ericka Verba said she worries that if CSU were to provide the text of her emails to the federal government, she could face retaliation for her activism related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Verba, a member of Cal State LA’s Latin American Studies Program, said her emails also “contain sensitive information about students’ immigration status” that is not relevant to an antisemitism probe.
Concerns not limited to Cal State LA
Similar concerns have spread to employees at other CSU campuses, who said in court declarations that they are worried that future federal requests may seek information they consider confidential and personal.
Christopher Cox, a San Jose State University lecturer in sociology and interdisciplinary studies, wrote that his teaching specialties — including topics like colonization and international human rights — make him concerned “that I will be targeted for the courses that I teach at SJSU if my private information is subpoenaed by the EEOC or another federal agency.”
At Cal Poly Humboldt, a philosophy lecturer said he feared his views on political issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, would put him at risk. Loren Cannon, who has worked at the Humboldt campus since 2006, said he was concerned that CSU may in the future turn over information about his scholarship and teaching “that would subject me to additional scrutiny, harassment and even the termination of my position.”
Institutions of higher education have varied in how they respond to EEOC investigations into alleged discrimination against Jewish employees. The University of Pennsylvania sought to revoke an EEOC subpoena in its entirety, the federal agency said in a court filing. EEOC denied that effort and has asked a federal district court to force Penn to comply with a modified order. Meanwhile, Columbia University in New York City agreed to pay $21 million to settle an EEOC investigation.
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
