California court says UC must reconsider discriminatory hiring policy against students without legal US status

The California Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court ruling requiring the University of California (UC) to reconsider its policy that bars students without legal status in the US from working in campus jobs. The court declined to review the university’s appeal, effectively leaving in place an earlier decision that described the hiring ban as discriminatory under state law. The decision follows a legal challenge filed in 2024, alleging that UC’s employment restrictions violated California legislation protecting undocumented students’ access to educational opportunities. UC officials said the court’s refusal to hear the case places the university system in a difficult position as it negotiates with the Trump administration, which recently withdrew federal research funds from the institut