A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the University of Pennsylvania must surrender records about its Jewish employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged antisemitic discrimination on campus.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert granted the EEOC access to the data while imposing a significant limitation: the university need not disclose whether any individual employee belongs to a particular Jewish organization or group.
The Trump administration has pursued the investigation as part of its broader focus on antisemitism in higher education. The EEOC sought the employee records to determine whether systemic discrimination has occurred at the institution.
Pappert emphasized that while employees can decline to participate in the agency's inquiry, federal investigators require the ability to contact them directly. "The agency needs the opportunity to talk to them directly to learn if they have evidence of discrimination," the judge wrote in his decision.
The ruling attempts to balance the government's investigative authority against employee privacy concerns. By prohibiting disclosure of specific organizational affiliations, the judge addressed concerns about singling out individuals based on their memberships while still permitting the EEOC to identify and interview Jewish staff members who may have experienced workplace discrimination.
The decision comes as federal authorities have intensified scrutiny of college campuses following pro-Palestinian protests and reported incidents of antisemitism at American universities. Penn has faced previous criticism over its handling of antisemitic incidents on its Philadelphia campus.
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