The California Faculty Association is suing the California State University system for sharing employees’ personal information in response to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s subpoena of CSU Los Angeles, according to CFA’s statement from Oct. 10.
This suit comes after CSULA administration emailed faculty and staff on Sept. 25 that the EEOC had subpoenaed the personal phone numbers and email addresses of all current and former employees since 2023, after the university had already given the EEOC publicly available information.
The CFA, the main union representing 29,000 faculty and staff in the CSU, filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate and Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief against the CSU Board of Trustees on Oct. 10. The CSU Chancellor’s Office said it is aware of the lawsuit and shares the CFA’s concern for protecting employee privacy.
“As a public institution, the CSU has a legal obligation to comply with such subpoenas while striving to limit disclosures to only what is required by law,” the Chancellor’s Office said. “We are reviewing the claims made in the lawsuit and will continue to take all appropriate steps to ensure compliance with both state and federal law, while upholding the privacy and trust of our faculty and staff.”
The CFA is seeking an injunction to prevent the CSU from sharing employees’ personal information in response to future subpoenas from federal agencies. They are also seeking a judicial declaration stating that the CSU’s disclosure of faculty information to the EEOC violates Article I, Section 1 of the California State Constitution and California’s Information Practices Act that declares privacy a “personal and fundamental right.”
“As with all aspects of this matter, we remain committed to transparency, integrity, and care for our community. Leadership cannot comment on or intervene in the EEOC’s independent process,” the CSULA email said.
The email also informed CSULA employees that the university could not share information about the nature of the complaints and reassured them that participation in the investigation would not affect their employment.
According to a statement from the CFA, the union asked the CSU system not to comply with the subpoena and requested a copy. CSU administration responded on Oct. 1, saying that the CSU had already complied with the EEOC’s requests. The CSU has provided the CFA with a copy of the subpoena, according to Erik Hollins, CFA’s Executive Director of Strategic Communications.
CSU Chancellor Mildred García announced the EEOC investigation, as well as an investigation from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, in an email to faculty and staff on Sept. 26. García’s email said that the EEOOC was investigating allegations of antisemitism, and the OCR was investigating the CSU’s involvement with the PhD Project, a business education nonprofit.
García’s email said that the CSU would be fully cooperating with both investigations.
Article 6 of the Information Practices Act prevents agencies from sharing their employees’ identifiable personal information. This comes with many exceptions, including if the information is given in response to a subpoena or court order.
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The CSULA email informed employees that the EEOC does not communicate confidential matters over work emails or phones. It also explained that the EEOC’s handling is governed by the Privacy Act of 1974, Federal Information Security Modernization Act and EEOC’s own internal data protection policies.The Privacy Act of 1974 establishes practices for the collection and handling of personal information held by federal agencies. Under FISMA, federal agencies like the EEOC are required to report any data breaches to the Department of Homeland Security
The CFA released its initial statement on Oct. 2, claiming that the investigations were part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb diversity, equity and inclusion on college campuses rather than a sincere effort to address antisemitism.
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“We are continuing to do everything we can to learn about current threats to our members’ privacy, livelihoods, and freedoms and to develop strategies to protect us all from harm,” the CFA said in a message to its members.
Sac State has declined to comment on the lawsuit and the statement from the Chancellor’s Office. The Chancellor’s Office said it will be releasing a newsletter about the investigations this week.
