Court Blocks EEOC Subpoena for Penn Jewish Employee Records

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Tuesday vacated a lower court order requiring the University of Pennsylvania to comply with an EEOC subpoena for employee records on Jewish individuals, delivering a victory to both the school and the American Association of University Professors.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the subpoena in July 2025 as part of a probe into whether Penn created a hostile work environment for Jewish employees. Penn rebuffed the request over privacy concerns. This past March, a district court judge ordered the university to turn over most of the requested information, a decision Penn appealed. Penn appealed, and the EEOC later abandoned enforcement efforts after reaching a settlement with the university.

The AAUP, which filed to join the case in January, successfully argued that forcing disclosure would violate religious liberties and chill campus participation in Jewish activities. The appeals court agreed, vacating the district court’s order and instructing dismissal of the EEOC’s case. AAUP spokesperson Kelly Benjamin called the ruling a win against privacy invasion, noting the broader implications for religious freedom.

The EEOC sought extensive documentation, including membership rosters of Penn’s Jewish organizations, names of employees who filed antisemitism complaints, contact details of Jewish studies program staff and faculty, participants in anonymous listening sessions, and notes from those meetings. Penn resisted, arguing the request disregarded the “frightening and well-documented history of governmental entities that undertook efforts to identify and assemble information regarding persons of Jewish ancestry.” In its court filing, the university emphasized that the EEOC’s demands ignored these risks.

The conflict mirrors a recent case at California State University, where the system complied with an EEOC request for 2,600 employees’ contact information, sparking lawsuits and backlash. The university later settled, agreeing to notify employees before disclosing records to the EEOC. Penn, which agreed to abandon its appeal, dropped its efforts to enforce the subpoena this summer after striking a deal with the EEOC.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision this week could provide legal justification for universities to resist when asked for similar troves of employee information. By vacating the lower court’s order, the decision highlights limits on government access to employee records, particularly when privacy and historical discrimination risks are at stake. There were serious implications for religious liberties across the nation and for AAUP members.