In late 2025, a volunteer at a hospital in North Carolina was suspended after he wore a shirt stating, “FREE PALESTINE” and “FREE SUDAN.” The hospital reportedly revoked the volunteer’s badge and told him he could not return to volunteer at the hospital for 30 days.
The volunteer said he had done a weekly shift at the hospital every week for 30 years without discipline before the suspension. When he wrote a letter of concern to management at the hospital about his suspension, his immediate supervisor extended the suspension from 30 days to 120 days, claiming that the volunteer was being insubordinate for simply suggesting that the hospital should consider his constitutional rights.
CAIR attorneys then wrote a demand letter to the hospital, warning the hospital that, if it did not take corrective action, CAIR could bring claims for illegal retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.
Within two weeks, the hospital responded to the demand letter notifying CAIR attorneys that the volunteer was being reinstated. As of this past Friday, the hospital returned his badge and the volunteer is back at work.
REPORT AN INCIDENT TO CAIR: https://www.cair.com/report/