Third Circuit Erases Ruling on EEOC’s Penn Subpoena: What Federal Employees Should Know

The Third Circuit has erased a lower-court ruling that enforced an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) subpoena seeking the personal phone numbers, emails, and home addresses of University of Pennsylvania employees. The EEOC had already dropped the subpoena, and it then opposed erasing the ruling. For federal employees whose discrimination complaints are decided by the same agency, the story is a window into how the EEOC is using its time and resources.

What the EEOC Asked For

In December 2023, Andrea Lucas filed a charge against Penn over antisemitism on campus. In July 2025, the EEOC issued a subpoena to Penn for the personal phone numbers, emails, and home addresses of every employee in a Jewish campus group, every employee in Jewish Studies, everyone who attended a listening session on antisemitism, and everyone who received a survey about it.

What the Courts Said

The EEOC described the subpoena as “garden variety.” The district judge who ruled for the EEOC in March nonetheless called the key request “ineptly worded.” In explaining why it wanted the information, the EEOC told the court it was “short-staffed” with a “tremendous inventory.”

Jewish law students and Penn professors, the very people the EEOC said it was protecting, brought in the ACLU to oppose the subpoena. In July of this year, the EEOC dropped it. The Penn groups then asked the appeals court to erase the district court's ruling, and the EEOC opposed that request. On Tuesday, October 6, the Third Circuit erased the ruling in a 2–1 decision.

Keeping the Context Fair

Antisemitism at Penn was real, and Penn's own president has said so. The district judge also concluded that the subpoena was legal. The Third Circuit's decision does not change either point. What it does is remove the district court's ruling from the books, which means that ruling generally no longer carries legal weight. Everything above comes from public court records and news reporting, and the observations about staffing are our commentary.

Why Federal Employees With EEOC Cases Should Pay Attention

The EEOC decides discrimination complaints from federal employees through the federal-sector process under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614. When the agency tells a court that it is short-staffed and carrying a tremendous inventory of work, federal employees waiting on a hearing or an appeal have reason to notice. Delay at the EEOC is not a reason to miss a deadline of your own. A few practical steps:

• Track every deadline yourself. The first deadline in most federal-sector EEO complaints is the 45-day window to contact an EEO counselor, 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1). Later steps carry their own deadlines, which are stated in your notices.
• Keep your own file. Save every notice, acknowledgment, and filing, with dates, outside agency systems.
• Ask for status in writing. If your case has been waiting a long time, a short written status request creates a record.
• Get advice before a deadline, not after. A missed deadline is much harder to fix than a question asked early.

If your EEOC case is stalled, or you are deciding how to proceed, the federal employee lawyers at Southworth PC can help you understand your options.

Legal Disclaimer: This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Federal employment situations are fact-specific and time-sensitive. Please consult a qualified federal employment attorney about your specific situation.