Overview
- The federal judge in Philadelphia ruled Tuesday that Penn must obey an EEOC subpoena and give names and contact details for employees tied to the campus Jewish community by May 1.
- The agency is seeking lists of staff in the Jewish Studies Program, rosters and contacts for Jewish-related groups, names of employees who filed antisemitism complaints, and participants in task-force surveys and listening sessions.
- The court said Penn does not need to reveal which specific group any employee belongs to or provide details on Penn Hillel, Chabad, or MEOR, and employees may refuse to be interviewed.
- Penn said it will appeal, arguing the order forces the school to create religion-based lists and share personal data that it does not track and that it believes raises privacy and First Amendment concerns.
- The probe grew out of 2023 reports of a swastika, vandalism, hateful graffiti, and protest-related incidents on campus, and it sits within a wider Trump administration crackdown on alleged antisemitism at universities.