The Department of Justice on Wednesday launched an investigation into the University of California under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Title VII gives the U.S. Attorney General authority to initiate investigations against state and local government employers if they find reasonable cause that they’re engaged in a “pattern or practice” of employment discrimination.
Officials say the probe will examine alleged discrimination across 10 UC campuses.
“The investigation will assess 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,” the DOJ said in a press release.
In a statement to NBC4, the UC system pushed back.
“We want to be clear: the University of California is unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil rights. We continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of harassment and discrimination for everyone in the university community.”
The Israel-Hamas war has roiled U.S. college campuses, sparked mass protests and ignited a heated debate over the limits of free speech.
Wednesday’s announcement reflects a broader Trump Administration crackdown on some of America’s most elite universities.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order outlining “additional measures to combat antisemitism.” On Feb. 28, the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said investigators would be visiting 10 schools, including USC and UCLA, to determine “whether remedial action is warranted.”
“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,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Wednesday.
In a social media post Tuesday, President Trump threatened to cut off federal funding for any college that permits what he called “illegal protests” and threatened to deport foreign students on visas.
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression denounced that proposal as “deeply chilling.”
“As FIRE knows too well from our work defending student and faculty rights under the Obama and Biden administrations, threatening schools with the loss of federal funding will result in a crackdown on lawful speech,” the free speech group said.
More than 250,000 people work for the UC system, representing California’s third-largest employer, according to a 2023 accountability report. The ten campuses stretch across Los Angeles, Riverside, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, San Francisco, Davis and Merced.
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