Cases & Developments - National Association of College and University Attorneys

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Latest Cases & Developments

Date:
1/20/2026
University of Pennsylvania Response in Opposition to EEOC Subpoena Enforcement Action (Jan. 20, 2026)
In November, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the University of Pennsylvania to enforce a subpoena in an ongoing workplace harassment investigation which seeks “lists of employees that reveal their Jewish faith or ancestry, associations with Jewish organizations, affiliation with Jewish studies, participation in programming for the Jewish community and/or de-anonymized responses to surveys on antisemitism, alongside their personal home addresses, phone numbers, and emails.” The university’s motion asks the court to deny the EEOC’s request noting that (1) the request does not satisfy the criteria for judicial enforcement and is unreasonably burdensome; (2) the privacy interests of the university’s employees outweigh the EEOC’s need for access; and (3) the request demands information that is not within the university’s possession, custody, or control.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | External Investigations | Investigations | Race and National Origin Discrimination
Date:
1/9/2026
Fakhreddine v. The Univ. of Pa. (3rd Cir. Jan. 9, 2026)
Opinion Affirming Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiffs, two professors and a faculty group at the University of Pennsylvania, sued the university to block document production to a House committee investigating antisemitism, arguing that the university’s cooperation would violate their constitutional and state-law rights and could result in harassment, given the negative publicity plaintiffs had received following a prior hearing. The district court granted the university’s motion to dismiss, holding that plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because they could not plausibly allege that the university had disclosed any specific information about them or that any concrete harm had occurred. On appeal, the Third Circuit agreed, stating that “[a]t most, the pleading alleges that responsive documents ‘might mention’ [plaintiff].” While agreeing that the district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ state law claims was proper, because the dismissal was due to a lack of jurisdiction, the court modified the judgment to dismiss without prejudice.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination
Date:
12/10/2025
Pomona College Title VI Settlement Agreement (Dec. 10, 2025)
Pomona College reached a settlement agreement with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Hillel International, and the Anti-Defamation League, which resolved an antisemitism complaint that the parties filed against the college with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. The agreement runs from spring 2026 through spring 2028 (with some obligations extending through spring 2029) and requires the college to: (1) add a warning to its trainings and FAQ that “Zionist” is often used as a codeword for ‘Jew’ and may be evidence of antisemitic intent; (2) commit to considering and incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism; (3) ban masked protests; (4) appoint a Civil Rights and/or Title VI Coordinator; (5) mandate individual Title VI training for all students, staff, and faculty; (6) hold semester meetings between college leadership and Jewish student organizations; (7) conduct a campus climate survey; and (8) update its policies and procedures including its Time, Place and Manner policy and its Flyer policy.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Enforcement of Non-Discrimination Laws | Race and National Origin Discrimination
Date:
12/10/2025
Green v. Univ. of Mississippi (N.D. Miss. Dec. 10, 2025)
Opinion Denying Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff, a Black intervention specialist at the University of Mississippi’s drug and alcohol treatment center, sued the university alleging race and sex discrimination under Title VII after she was terminated based on allegations of inappropriate conduct with students, her position was subsequently eliminated, and her job responsibilities transferred to a recently hired employee. The court denied the defendant’s summary judgment motion, holding that, although plaintiff’s position was eliminated after her termination, plaintiff had established she was “replaced” because her duties were assumed by someone outside her protected class. The court further held that plaintiff raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the university’s stated reason for her termination was pretextual and noted comments from plaintiff’s supervisor that she preferred a White male for plaintiff’s position. The court explained that pretext could also be inferred from the university’s investigation into plaintiff for alleged misconduct because testimony suggested that the university did not actually believe the allegations were proven and plaintiff was not informed of the allegations or given an opportunity to respond prior to her termination.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Sex Discrimination
Date:
12/4/2025
$21 Million Payout Process Begins in Columbia University Antisemitism Settlement with EEOC (Dec. 4, 2025)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the claims process for current and former Columbia University employees who believe they experienced antisemitic discrimination, harassment, or retaliation between October 7, 2023 and July 23, 2025. The $21 million settlement with the EEOC is part of a larger settlement Columbia reached with the federal government in July which included a $200 million in exchange for the restoration of $400 million in federal grant funding. EEOC has sole discretion for eligibility and amount awarded to claimants from the settlement fund.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination
Date:
12/1/2025
Brassette v. Adm’rs of the Tulane Educ. Fund (E.D. La. Dec. 1, 2025)
Opinion Granting Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff, a former Paint Supervisor at Tulane University, brought Title VII reverse race discrimination and retaliation claims and claims under the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) after he was terminated following an internal investigation which concluded he had discriminated against Black employees by “harassing, screaming at, excessively monitoring, and unreasonably disciplining them.” In granting summary judgment for the university on plaintiff’s race and age discrimination claims, the court held plaintiff could not demonstrate that his firing was pretextual, finding instead that the university “reasonably believed” that he discriminated against Black painters working for him, and was terminated on that basis alone. Regarding plaintiff’s retaliation claim, the court found that although he had engaged in protected activity when he complained that his write-ups were not taken seriously because of his race, he failed to make a causal connection between this activity and his termination four months later.
Topics:
Age Discrimination | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Retaliation
Date:
11/19/2025
EEOC New and Updated Educational Materials on National Origin Discrimination (Nov. 19, 2025)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released new guidance and information regarding national origin discrimination and anti-American bias, including a one-page technical assistance document: “Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against The Law.” The EEOC also updated the national origin discrimination landing page to include examples of national origin discrimination and the actions individuals may take if they believe their rights have been violated.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination
Date:
11/3/2025
Elagha v. Northwestern Univ. (N.D. Ill. Nov. 3, 2025)
Opinion Granting Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff, a former student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, brought Title VI harassment and discrimination claims against the university and three law school deans, following doxing from fellow students based on her participation in pro-Palestinian protests and the recission of a job offer. The court dismissed the law school deans from the suit, analogizing to Title IX caselaw which limits Title IX claims to the university as the grant recipient. On plaintiff’s Title VI harassment claim, the court held that while plaintiff had plausibly alleged a hostile environment which deprived her of the benefit of attending class, she had not shown that the university had been deliberately indifferent in its response. While acknowledging the standard was a “stringent” one, the court found plaintiff had failed to clear this bar, finding the university’s response was both “quick and reasonable,” where it excused her class absences, deferred her exams, and sent letters to her future employer and to the State Bar at her request. Finally, the court dismissed plaintiff’s intentional discrimination claim finding she had failed to provide “even a single example of a similarly situated student outside her protected class” that received the response she sought from the university.
Topics:
Constitutional Issues | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | First Amendment & Free Speech | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Student Speech & Campus Unrest
Date:
10/22/2025
Department of Justice Announces Agreement with the University of Virginia (Oct. 22, 2025)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with the University of Virginia that effectively pauses pending investigations and ensures continued eligibility for federal grants and award in exchange for the universities commitment to comply with all federal civil rights laws including DOJ’s July 29, 2025 guidance letter “so long as that Guidance remains in force and to the extent consistent with relevant judicial decisions.” The university is required to provide relevant information and data to DOJ on a quarterly basis through 2028, with the president of the university personally certifying compliance with the agreement.
Topics:
Admissions | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Diversity in Employment | Enforcement of Non-Discrimination Laws | Faculty & Staff | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Students
Date:
10/8/2025
Saud v. DePaul Univ. (7th Cir. Oct. 8, 2025)
Opinion Affirming Summary Judgment. Plaintiff, a former adjunct professor at DePaul University, brought a racial discrimination claim under 42 U.S.C. §1981, after the university deemed him ineligible for future employment following a campus Title IX investigation found he had sexually harassed a student. The district court granted summary judgment for the university, finding that the plaintiff had failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the university had discriminated against the plaintiff. The 7th circuit affirmed, holding that “[s]exual misconduct is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for an adverse employment action” and that the plaintiff had failed to establish that the university’s action was pretextual because he had failed to provide any evidence that the university did not “honestly believe[] it made the correct employment decision.”
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Employee Sexual Misconduct | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Sex Discrimination

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