The California Faculty Association announced on Wednesday that it reached a settlement with the California State University system that requires the public university system to notify employees before turning over their personal information to federal investigators amid an ongoing antisemitism inquiry.
In October, the CFA filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court challenging CSU’s handling of a subpoena from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission related to a commission investigation into alleged antisemitism at California State University, Los Angeles, which is part of a broader federal probe into alleged hostile work environments for Jewish employees.
The faculty union stated earlier that month that “CSU Los Angeles leadership told faculty and staff the day prior that the university must respond to a subpoena to turn over personal phone numbers and email addresses for all employees.” The lawsuit alleged that those disclosures violated state privacy protections and employees’ rights under the California Information Practices Act.
Mildred García, the public system’s chancellor, had stated in a September email to the community that the EEOC “initiated a systemwide antisemitism complaint” against the school and contacted “some faculty and staff members across the system to review allegations of antisemitism and to speak with them about their experiences on campus.”
Under the approved settlement, “CSU must provide notice to employees as soon as reasonably practicable before complying with any subpoena for employees’ personal information related to the EEOC’s investigation of alleged antisemitism on CSU campuses,” the association stated.
The CFA said the agreement applies systemwide to all CSU employees, not only at Cal State, Los Angeles, and includes United Auto Workers and Teamsters affiliates that joined the lawsuit on behalf of student and skilled trade workers.
In a statement on its website, CSU said both sides share “a mutual interest in safeguarding employees’ personal information and providing timely information to those most impacted.”
The system added that the agreement “reinforces the CSU’s longstanding commitment to employee privacy, transparency and compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, including lawful subpoenas.”
