By A. Gabriela Garcia, February 10, 2026
The California Faculty Association reached a settlement agreement with the California State University Board of Trustees Jan. 21, 2026 over the disclosure of faculty personal information to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The lawsuit came after the EEOC subpoenaed California State University, Los Angeles for an alert they received of antisemitism at the university. The CFA was informed the CSU Board of Trustees shared personal faculty information without prior notice, prompting the lawsuit, according to a statement from the CFA.
While the settlement terms will remain confidential to protect the reputations of the parties involved, it requires the CSU to provide notice to system employees before complying with subpoenas.
A statement from CSU said, “Both parties have a mutual interest in safeguarding employees’ personal information and providing timely information to those most impacted.”
The settlement also addresses the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights investigation of the CSU for alleged racial discrimination for associations with the PhD Project, a non-profit program designed to diversify business school faculty. Under the settlement, the CSU is required to “provide notice to employees as soon as reasonably practicable,” according to a statement from the CFA.
Personal information is defined by the 1977 California Information Practices Act as any information about a faculty member from their name and physical appearance to their medical and employment history.
This resolution will affect all universities in the CSU system, including Cal Poly Pomona.
“There was a violation of certain employment and legal provisions concerning the privacy of employee data,” said Shu Shang, an assistant professor in the finance, real estate and law department. “The administration disclosed this information in an unlawful manner.”
The investigations of the CSU system and other universities by the EEOC are part of nationwide efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, combat antisemitism and scrutinize foreign funding, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education.
This initiative has been heavily influenced by President Donald Trump’s reshaping of the EEOC, causing universities to cut programs that support minorities across higher education, according to a statement from the CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia.
“I think one of the concerns of the faculty and union is that the Trump administration has a particular agenda and are very anti-higher education,” said Bonnie Thorne, president of the CFA chapter at CPP. “They don’t like professors teaching about things like racism, slavery and gender, so we go back to, ‘Are they going to target faculty who teach these courses?’”
Thorne agreed the lawsuit was a necessary action to protect faculty from the CSU’s compliance with the EEOC subpoena.
The CFA CPP chapter has been supportive of faculty and strives to build community within the faculty. They want to push for the removal of faculty information online to help protect faculty members from being targeted, according to Thorne.
Although the lawsuit was specifically filed for CSULA, the entire CSU system is being investigated for antisemitism, according to the CSU’s EEOC FAQ page. The status of the systemwide complaint remains unknown.
“As far as we know, no one on our campus is being investigated,” Thorne said.
Shang hopes this resolution will incentivize CSU to improve their compliance with all employment laws, constitutional standards and privacy laws.
“The CSU needs to relay and do better in its compliance because the laws are constantly changing, particularly under this administration,” Shang said.
Feature image courtesy of Andre Davancens
