Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Sues Harvard for Diversity-Related Hiring Records

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Harvard late Tuesday to compel the University to produce records as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged discrimination in Harvard’s faculty hiring.

The filing asks a federal court in Massachusetts to enforce a June subpoena requiring Harvard to turn over a slew of documents related to an April 2025 charge that the University violated Title VII by discriminating against white, male, Asian, and straight applicants.

Lawyers for the EEOC argue Harvard was uncooperative during lengthy negotiations about the scope of the records request and then provided only “partial” and “piecemeal” documents after being served with a subpoena this summer.

“Respondent has consistently failed to meet deadlines and has instead unilaterally opted for a rolling production of documents that remains grossly deficient and subject to Respondent’s improper objections,” lawyers for the EEOC wrote in the filing, arguing the back-and-forth had “delayed and hampered” their investigation.

The EEOC lawsuit adds to a growing tally of government investigations into Harvard that escalated this year into full-blown legal disputes. The University is also fighting a similar Department of Justice lawsuit that alleges Harvard unlawfully withheld applicant-level records needed for an investigation into the University’s admissions practices.

The EEOC case dates back to an April 2025 charge that accused several Harvard schools and their hospital affiliates of Title VII discrimination in their faculty hiring, fellowship, and training programs.

The charge cited data from the University’s annual demographic reports showing a decline in the proportion of white men in tenured and tenure-track positions and an increase across all other groups listed, including “Women, Nonbinary, and Faculty of Color,” from 2013 to 2023.

According to the Tuesday filing, Harvard engaged with the EEOC investigation for several months until negotiations broke down earlier this year. The EEOC responded by serving Harvard with a subpoena on June 8, giving the University until Sept. 16 to produce a laundry list of documents about its hiring practices and diversity-related programming.

The sweeping subpoena asked Harvard to turn over its Faculty Hiring Guide, a copy of all applicant materials submitted to Harvard for any faculty position, and demographic data for each applicant.

It also targeted Harvard’s diversity-related programming, instructing the University to provide all President Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging documents, performance reviews for three current and former Havard diversity officers, and the name of the person “most knowledgeable regarding faculty diversity efforts” at each Harvard school.

Harvard quickly pushed back. On June 18, Harvard submitted a 46-page request asking the EEOC to modify or revoke the subpoena. The University argued in its filing that the underlying charge of discrimination was meritless, that the request was “impermissibly vague” and not sufficiently relevant to the investigation, and that the EEOC violated its own policies in issuing the subpoena.

Harvard’s filing also alleged the charge and the EEOC subpoena were part of a government-wide effort to retaliate against Havard for rebuffing the government’s demands last year. Lawyers for the University wrote that escalations in the investigation overlapped — not coincidentally, they claimed — with developments in Harvard’s broader fight with the White House.

The charge was filed days after Harvard sued the Trump administration to get its funding back, Harvard’s lawyers observed, and the June subpoena was levied just after Harvard asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s admissions lawsuit. (University lawyers argued their side last week, claiming the case should be thrown out on procedural grounds).

“The timing and irregularity of the EEOC’s actions demonstrate that the Charge and this Subpoena are the latest attempt to punish Harvard for exercising its First Amendment rights,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote in June.

The EEOC denied Harvard’s request to revoke the subpoenas on Aug. 31, leaving the University just over two weeks to comply with the documents request. When it didn’t fully comply, according to the Tuesday filing, the EEOC sued.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at hcc.35. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.