Federal agency drops subpoena seeking list of Jews at Penn

This story is developing and will continue to be updated.

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission withdrew its subpoena seeking the disclosure of personal contact information and lists of Jewish employees at Penn on Thursday, bringing a months-long legal battle to a close.

As of July 23, Penn is no longer obligated to produce the information sought by the federal agency, and all related court proceedings will not continue. The EEOC’s decision comes in the wake of intense criticism from the University community regarding the original July 2025 request.

The EEOC’s “complete abandonment of its intent to enforce the subpoena has vindicated Penn’s two-and-a-half-year fight and mooted the necessity for appeal,” a University spokesperson wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

According to the agreement — filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit — the EEOC “will not take any further measures to enforce the subpoena seeking identification and personal contact information of employees of the University of Pennsylvania.”

In return, Penn will stipulate “that the parties’ agreement moots the appeal.” Additionally, each party in the proceedings will be responsible for its own attorney’s fees and any other costs.

The court filing did not include any reasoning for the federal agency’s decision. An EEOC spokesperson declined to add “anything beyond court filings” in response to a request for comment.

“With the support of many members of the community who have stood with Penn throughout, the University has been able to protect its employees’ rights and none of the subpoenaed personal contact information was disclosed,” the Penn spokesperson added.

Vice President of the Penn chapter of the American Association of University Professors Lorena Grundy wrote in a statement to the DP that “AAUP-Penn is proud to have been part of the broad coalition that won this victory to protect the privacy and safety of our Jewish community by preventing the EEOC from forcing the University of Pennsylvania to create and share a list of Jews.”

“This victory shows that universities should not capitulate to unjust and unconstitutional demands from the Trump administration,” Grundy added. “When we join together and fight, we win.”

Penn initially challenged the subpoena on Jan. 20. The filing echoed Penn’s previous arguments, stating that the University had complied with the agency’s demands but is unwilling to turn over personal information without the consent of the affected parties.

At the time, Penn described the EEOC’s demands as “disconcerting but also entirely unnecessary,” arguing that disclosing private details would “erode trust between Penn and its employees and the broader Jewish community at Penn.”

Federal District Judge Gerald Pappert ordered Penn to comply with the EEOC’s subpoena in March. A Philadelphia court, however, granted Penn’s motion to halt the enforcement of the ruling the next month. 

Penn filed its April 13 motion to stay alongside a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The EEOC sent its initial subpoena to Penn in July 2025 amid an ongoing investigation into workplace antisemitism at the University — requiring Penn to provide a list of received antisemitism complaints, names of members of Jewish-related campus groups, and employees in the Jewish Studies Program. In November 2025, the EEOC filed a lawsuit alleging that the University had failed to comply with the agency’s demands.  

The development follows the Trump administration’s recent move to end mandatory workplace demographic data reporting to the EEOC.

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