Judge Grants Stay in EEOC v. Penn Case on Jewish Employees

A district court judge issued a stay Monday in the ongoing legal battle between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the University of Pennsylvania, suspending an earlier ruling that compelled Penn to hand over the names of employees who are members of on-campus Jewish groups to the commission. The university is working to appeal the initial decision, and the stay gives the appeals court time to consider the case. 

Judge Gerald Pappert wrote in his memorandum that “Penn does not have a strong chance of prevailing on appeal,” but that the university “narrowly” showed irreparable harm. In other words, if the university released the requested information now, a successful appeal could not undo that action. Pappert also wrote that “public interest favors a stay” and argued against the EEOC’s claim that a stay would impede the commission’s ability to investigate Penn.

“The EEOC argues a stay would interfere with its ability to investigate Penn, emphasizing ‘memories fade, witnesses and victims [may] leave [Penn], and potential harassing behavior [may] persist,’” Pappert wrote. “But about five months after Commissioner Lucas issued the charge in December of 2023, the EEOC went dark for nearly one year.”