Trump DOJ brings civil rights suit against UCLA over antisemitism, hostile work environment

In its complaint, the Justice Department claims that antisemitic harassment at UCLA “pervaded” the campus in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and that the university failed to take adequate steps to prevent or correct discriminatory and harassing conduct aimed at Jewish and Israeli employees.

The lawsuit alleges the university engaged in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination by allowing harassment to persist and by failing to enforce viewpoint-neutral rules governing demonstrations, including time, place, and manner restrictions. It also alleges the university was negligent in permitting a hostile work environment affecting two employees who filed charges and other Jewish and Israeli staff members.

According to the complaint, incidents escalated in 2024 during periods of heightened campus activism related to the war in Gaza. The Justice Department alleges that for days near UCLA’s Royce Hall, Jewish individuals were barred from portions of the main quad, Jewish professors were assaulted, and swastikas were graffitied on university buildings. The complaint also describes Jewish and Israeli faculty being physically threatened, classrooms disrupted, and workplaces covered with what it calls “disturbing images.”

It further alleges that some Jewish professors faced ostracism and harassment from colleagues and students, and that supervisors and colleagues failed to report incidents as required, and in some cases participated in the conduct.

The Justice Department says the alleged environment was severe enough that multiple Jewish and Israeli employees took leave, worked remotely, or resigned in order to avoid harassment. “Based on our investigation, UCLA administrators allegedly allowed virulent anti-Semitism to flourish on campus, harming students and staff alike,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement included in the announcement. “Today’s lawsuit underscores that this Department of Justice stands strong against hate and anti-Semitism in all its vile forms.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, called the allegations “a mark of shame” if proven true and said the department would seek to ensure UCLA maintains a workplace free from antisemitic harassment. First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said the federal government has an obligation to intervene when universities fail to provide a discrimination-free environment for employees.

The case stems from a commissioner’s charge filed in June 2024 by then-Commissioner Andrea Lucas of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the Justice Department. A commissioner’s charge allows the agency to initiate an investigation even without an individual filing a complaint. The Justice Department said the EEOC played a key role in investigating harassment allegations at UCLA and in identifying problems in how the university handled complaints. “The EEOC is committed to eradicating antisemitism at work,” Lucas said in the statement. “If a University will not investigate and remedy repeated allegations of antisemitism against its employees, the EEOC will.”

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk sent a letter to the campus community over the summer stating the university had received notice that the federal government had suspended research funding in response to violent Gaza encampments and protests following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel.

The DOJ announcement also links its campus enforcement push to Title IX issues involving sex-segregated spaces and athletics, arguing that schools have unlawfully forced women to share bathrooms and locker rooms with men who identified as women.

UCLA was recently forced to settle with three Jewish students and a professor for $6.13 million over civil rights violations.