The California Faculty Association (CFA), other union groups, and the CSU settled a lawsuit that was filed after Cal State LA gave private worker information to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last fall, before on-campus unions had a chance to respond or dispute the order by the EEOC. 

The settlement requires that the CSU provide notice to employees “as soon as reasonably practical before complying” with any further subpoenas “related to the EEOC’s investigation of alleged antisemitism on CSU campuses,” according to a statement published by the CFA.  

Cal State LA continues to be the only campus that was the subject of a direct EEOC subpoena, however there are other active antisemitism complaints across the other 21 CSU schools. The status of that systemwide complaint by the EEOC is unknown. 

The settlement was reached based on the 1977 California Information Practices Act, which defines personal information as “that identifies or describes an individual.” This information includes “their name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone numbers, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, and statements attributed to the individual.” 

The other union groups included the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Workers of America, Local 4123, which represents over 10,000 CSU teaching associates, graduate assistants and instructional student assistants, and the Teamsters 2010, who joined the suit after the initial filing in October 2025. 

The settlement also includes the same stipulations for any subpoenas that may come from the Federal Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation into the PhD Project, a non-profit that works to “diversify business education and the corporate workforce.” The Phd Project and the CSU are being investigated for “alleged racial discrimination” for their interactions in the past. 

The CSU stopped working with the PhD project in 2024, according to previous University Times reporting. 

Originally, the CFA had requested a preliminary injunction to halt further compliance with additional federal EEOC subpoenas, however the court did not make any rulings on that basis against the CSU before the settlement was ultimately agreed to on Jan. 16 of this year. 

“This ends our lawsuit against the CSU regarding this matter,” the CFA said in their statement. “But we continue to demand that the CSU administration protect its workers and their academic freedom, as well as fulfill its commitment to equity.” 

The EEOC originally began investigating Cal State LA for accusations of antisemitism early last year, following the spring 2024 Pro-Palestine protests and encampment at the school. The protests and encampment at the school were part of a nationwide movement against Israel’s actions in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack. 

The EEOC requested information for all workers, including student workers from Oct. 7, 2023, to the time of the request in September 2025 for private information. The request included student workers who had graduated and other employees no longer at Cal State LA. 

These former students were not notified of their private information being shared, and they did not have enough time to redact their information from being sent to the EEOC, as first reported by the University Times in December of last year. 

The investigation was allegedly brought to the EEOC’s attention after three employees at Cal State LA came forward with accusations of antisemitism, according to previous University Times reporting.  

The lawsuit was filed in mid-October, a few weeks after Cal State LA had complied with a federal subpoena without giving workers or their union representatives a chance to respond or challenge the EEOC’s order. 

It was only after the EEOC order was complied with that faculty, student workers, and staff were notified. At the time, Cal State LA spokesperson Erik Hollins said that they did not have time to notify employees and had to respond to the order “immediately.” 

The EEOC had previously accessed public worker information like work phone numbers and emails in the summer of 2025, according to previous University Times reporting before the request for private information. The CSU was able to withhold private addresses from the information shared with the EEOC, but private information like phone numbers and email addresses was shared. 

This story will be updated with additional comments from the CFA and other union representatives following this settlement agreement.