(FOX40.COM) — In March, the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that the Justice Department has opened a civil pattern and practice investigation into the University of California under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This comes before an investigation which involved the University of California systems for race and sex based employment practices.
The DOJ stated that this investigation was set to asses whether UC has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an Antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses.
“This Department of Justice will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional Antisemitism in our nation’s universities,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
The Leading Task Force and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Leo Terrell, said the following statement:
“Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, there has been an outbreak of antisemitic incidents at leading institutions of higher education in America, including at my own alma mater at the UCLA campus of UC. The impact upon UC’s students has been the subject of considerable media attention and multiple federal investigations. But these campuses are also workplaces, and the Jewish faculty and staff employed there deserve a working environment free of antisemitic hostility and hate. The President, the Attorney General, and this Task Force are committed to combating antisemitism for all Jewish Americans.”
The DOJ stated that the employment discrimination investigation will be conducted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion.
DOJ also said that the collaboration between the Justice Department and other federal agencies plays an important role when it comes to combating antisemitism in schools and college campuses. The department coordinates with other federal agencies as part of the multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, as well as when sharing enforcement jurisdiction with other agencies.
The Department of Justice shares enforcement authorities under Title VII with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when it comes to state, local government, and other related entities.
When the paperwork has been filed, the EEOC receives, investigates, and conciliates EEOC charges against state-and local-government employers, before referring those charges to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for potential legal action.
“The EEOC is committed to partnering with the Department of Justice to stamp out the scourge of anti-Semitism on campus workplaces,” said EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas.
