Hakim v. Regents of the University of Michigan

ADC filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Michigan on behalf of eight terminated workers—one full-time employee and seven student employees. The plaintiffs were fired and permanently barred from future University employment after participating in pro-Palestine protests calling on the University to divest from Israel, including a peaceful on-campus sit-in and a demonstration on public sidewalks urging the Board of Regents to meet with students. The lawsuit names the Regents of the University of Michigan along with several individual administrators, including President Santa Ono, as defendants.

The complaint alleges that the terminations and lifetime employment bans violate the plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to free speech and their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. It argues these actions represent a continuation of the University’s broader pattern of retaliating against pro-Palestine advocacy on its Ann Arbor campus, and asks the court to reverse the terminations and blacklisting.