CFA Settles Lawsuit with CSU Over Disclosure of Faculty Personal Information to Trump Administration

CFA, UAW Local 4123, and Teamsters Local 2010 reached a settlement agreement today with the CSU regarding our lawsuit over the disclosure of faculty’s personal information in response to a subpoena from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  

We celebrate this settlement as a win that will help prevent workers from being caught off guard by the CSU handing over personal information to federal agencies without the knowledge of the faculty impacted.  

Under the settlement agreement, the CSU must provide notice to employees as soon as reasonably practicable before complying with any subpoena for employees’ personal information related to the EEOC’s investigation of alleged antisemitism on CSU campuses, unless notice would be prohibited by law or regulation.  

What constitutes personal information? The settlement references the state Information Practices Act, which defines personal information as information that identifies or describes an individual, including their name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, and statements attributed to the individual. 

The settlement also addresses the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights investigation of the PhD Project. The CSU agreed to provide the same notice, unless prohibited by law or regulation, for data requests for employees’ personal information related to this investigation as well. In case you missed it, The U.S. Dept of Ed is investigating the CSU for alleged racial discrimination due to interactions with the non-profit organization whose mission is to diversify business education and the corporate workforce. 

The settlement agreement also requires the CSU to notify respective employees of any proceedings to enforce a subpoena or data request from these investigations.  

This ends our lawsuit against the CSU regarding this matter. But we continue to demand that the CSU administration protect its workers and their academic freedom, as well as fulfill its commitment to equity. We will keep fighting for our members’ livelihoods, freedoms, and privacy.