Cisco faces civil rights probe over alleged pro-Palestinian worker claims

Cisco Systems likely violated the civil rights of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employees, a federal agency has found, after employees were subjected to harassing messages, some of them posted by employees in an internal forum called the Connected Jewish Network.The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined in June that there was “reasonable cause to believe” Cisco subjected the employees to a hostile work environment based on their national origin, religion, or association in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The determination follows media reports and an EEOC probe into an ugly climate at the tech company following the Oct. 7, 2023, deadly attacks by Hamas on southern Israel. Pro-Palestinian employees called on the company to end its business dealings with Israel, while Jewish employees said the company had failed to protect them from harassment by pro-Palestinian employees.