The University of California is accused of labor law violations in connection with the handling of campus protests

The faculty accuses the University of California of violating labor laws, citing a large-scale campaign to suppress pro-Palestinian statements and campus protests across the state earlier this year.

The University of California's Council of Faculty Associations made those allegations in a complaint filed last week with the state Public Employment Relations Board. Faculty associations from seven UC campuses, including Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco, co-signed the unfair labor practice charge, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

The council said the UC administration threatened faculty members for teaching the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and initiated disciplinary proceedings against those who supported student encampments on campus.

The group's president, Constance Penley, described the university's actions as a “relentless campaign to restrict faculty members' exercise of academic freedom and to prevent them from teaching about the war in ways that are inconsistent with the university's position,” according to the Times.

In the spring, protest camps sprung up across the United States, including on the campus of the University of California. Students demanded that their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that they believe support the war in Gaza.

California teachers have also been investigated for pro-Palestinian social media posts, arrested for exercising their right to free speech, and surveilled and intimidated by university officials, prosecutors said in the complaint.

As the Times reported, the consequences continued even months after pro-Palestinian camps were cleared from universities across the state: university administrations have introduced new rules for protests and protesting students are struggling with ongoing suspensions and records being placed on them.

The university system defended its actions. UC spokeswoman Heather Hansen pointed to a statement the university previously filed with the state labor agency in response to an earlier filing by the UCLA Faculty Association.

The university stated that while it “supports free expression and lawful protests,” it also “must ensure that all members of its community can continue to study, work and exercise their rights safely. For this reason, it has policies in place to govern the time, place and nature of protest activities on its campus.”

The Public Employee Relations Board will review and evaluate the case and decide whether to dismiss the charges or for the parties to negotiate a settlement. If no settlement is reached, the case will be scheduled for a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.