EEOC Acting Chair Promises to Hold Accountable Universities and Colleges for Antisemitism on Campus Workplaces

WASHINGTON – Today, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas promised to hold accountable universities and colleges which have created a hostile-work environment for their Jewish employees.

“In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, news coverage of the severe outbreaks of antisemitism at our country’s leading universities focused on the students affected — from investigations at the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, to Congressional hearings, to federal lawsuits and administrative complaints under Title VI,” Lucas said. “But universities are workplaces, too, and large-scale employers. In addition to Jewish professors on campus, universities employ Jewish staff who work a variety of jobs, all of whom have the right not to be discriminated against or harassed on the basis of religion, national origin, or race.”

As previously announced on January 21, one of Lucas’s priorities for compliance, investigations, and litigation is protecting workers from religious bias and harassment, including the egregious and widespread antisemitism that has plagued some of our country’s elite universities.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace harassment based on religion, which may occur when an employee is subjected to unwelcome remarks or conduct based on their religion. Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment. Severe or pervasive antisemitic conduct—like vandalism, assaults, death threats, violent slogans and symbols, disruptive and violent protests in violation of campus policies, and preventing faculty and staff from accessing their place of work and other privileges of employment—can violate college and university employees’ Title VII rights. 

“Under the guise of promoting free speech, many universities have actually become a haven for antisemitic conduct, often in violation of the universities’ own time, place, and manner policies, as well as civil rights law,” Lucas emphasized.

On January 29, President Trump announced a government-wide effort to combat antisemitism in Executive Order 14188: Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism. Pursuant to that executive order, on February 3, the Department of Justice formed a Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Today, the Department of Justice announced it was investigating a major public university for potential violations of Title VII based on alleged antisemitism on the campus workplace. 

Collaboration across the entire federal government is essential to stopping and redressing the crisis of antisemitism in our nation. As quoted in the Department of Justice’s press release, Lucas said “The EEOC is committed to partnering with the Department of Justice,” along with other federal agency partners in the Trump Administration, “to stamp out the scourge of anti-Semitism on campus workplaces.”

The EEOC and Acting Chair Lucas have published multiple resources for employees and employers about addressing antisemitism at work:

• EEOC Fact Sheet: What To Do If You Face Antisemitism at Work
• EEOC’s Unanimous Resolution Condemning Violence, Harassment, and Bias Against Jewish Persons in the United States: Resolution of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Condemning Violence, Harassment, and Bias Against Jewish Persons in the United States | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• EEOC’s Religious Discrimination Enforcement Guidance: Section 12: Religious Discrimination | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Training on Combating Anti-Semitism in the Workplace by Acting Chair (then Commissioner) Lucas with the Louis D. Brandeis Center: Combatting Anti-Semitism in the Workplace | Monday, January 10, 2022

If you work for a university or college (or any other employer) and have experienced antisemitism at work, you can file a charge with the EEOC. Learn more here: https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination.

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The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.