Cisco Systems has been found by a regional director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to have likely failed in protecting Muslim, Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian employees from workplace harassment. The findings stem from internal conflicts within the technology company that escalated following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent military actions in Gaza.
The EEOC’s June 9 letter concluded there is reasonable cause to believe Cisco allowed a hostile work environment based on national origin (Middle Eastern), religion (Muslim), and associations with these groups to persist. While the letter does not constitute a binding legal ruling, and the agency has indicated it will not file a lawsuit, such determinations can strengthen employees’ cases should they pursue legal action independently.
Christopher Ho, the attorney representing current and former Cisco workers in the case, made the letter public after settlement discussions with the company stalled. Ho described the EEOC’s finding as a “belated but welcome validation” of the claim that these employees had faced illegal discrimination and harassment over an extended period.
Cisco has disputed the EEOC’s conclusions. A company spokeswoman stated that Cisco thoroughly investigated all reported concerns and took appropriate corrective measures. The company maintains it addressed multiple complaints from employees on both sides of the internal disputes and aimed to balance their differing perspectives.
The internal tensions reportedly played out primarily on a company-hosted forum for the employee resource group called the Connected Jewish Network. According to former employees and screenshots shared publicly, some posts on the forum included demeaning language toward pro-Palestinian workers, referring to supporters as “animals” and suggesting their advocacy was linked to terrorism. One particularly inflammatory comment urged co-workers who supported Palestinians to “just up and quit (not just quit Cisco, but quit living).” Cisco later fired the employee responsible for this comment, several weeks after it was reported.
Reyhan Bilici, a former company lawyer who publicly announced her resignation citing Islamophobia, said the hostile environment minimized professional contributions and was deeply dehumanizing to Muslim and Palestinian employees. She and other members of Bridge to Humanity, a pro-Palestinian employee group at Cisco, have expressed concerns over inconsistent company responses to harassment complaints.
In one instance cited by employees, Cisco took over two months to respond to a 76-page complaint outlining persistent discrimination against Muslims, Palestinians, and their allies—removing some posts and disciplining certain employees. Conversely, the company reacted within hours to complaints about a photograph featuring Cisco’s chief people officer alongside workers wearing T-shirts showing a map of Israel labeled with the Arabic word for Palestine—a symbol interpreted by some as opposing Israel’s existence. The chief people officer publicly apologized for the photo, which she said she joined unknowingly.
Former workers involved in the EEOC case and Bridge to Humanity argue this discrepancy in response times signals a double standard, suggesting the company tolerated harassment against Muslim and pro-Palestinian employees more than it did against Jewish employees. One former employee noted that while death threats and Islamophobic messages were largely ignored, the swift apology and action following the photo controversy contrasted sharply with the treatment of Muslim and Palestinian workers’ concerns.
The EEOC’s finding is notable as it comes amid a broader federal climate less inclined toward expansive minority protections, with the agency under the Trump administration previously emphasizing restraint in such cases. Legal experts say that such cause determinations generally result from investigations conducted by professional staff rather than political appointees.
The internal discord at Cisco reflects wider divisions seen in American workplaces concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and raises complex questions about how corporations navigate sensitive political issues among diverse employees. Cisco’s handling of these conflicts continues to draw scrutiny as workers and advocates emphasize the need for equitable treatment and protection against workplace harassment regardless of political or national affiliations.