Cisco Faces EEOC Ruling Over Hostile Work Environment Claims

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has concluded that Cisco Systems may have violated the civil rights of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim employees by allowing a hostile work environment based on their national origin, religion or association.

In June, the EEOC said there was 'reasonable cause to believe' that Cisco had violated Title VII of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964. The review concerned the situation at the company after Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

A group of employees, primarily Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, circulated an open letter calling on Cisco to end its business ties with the Israeli military. Over 1,700 employees signed the letter, but afterward, employees reported racist and Islamophobic harassment in internal forums.

The EEOC case was considered in part based on posts in the Connected Jewish Network forum. The Legal Aid at Work, which represented Muslim and pro-Palestinian employees, stated that employees repeatedly glorified violence, joked about sending people to their deaths, and called Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims killers or prone to violence.