Black Illinois Man Says He Was Fired After Refusing To Cut His Dreadlocks, Sues For Discrimination
Just days into his training at a Des Moines trucking firm, an Illinois man claims he was dismissed for refusing to cut his dreadlocks.
Drew Harvey, 26, from Crete, Illinois, arrived in Des Moines on June 23 to begin training with TMC Transportation. Training commenced on June 24, but Harvey alleges he was unjustly terminated on the second day due to his hairstyle.
He has since lodged a civil rights complaint against the company, accusing them of discrimination.
Harvey says he offered the company alternative solutions, such as trimming his hair or wrapping his locs to meet the company's standards. He claims the company expressed concerns that his hair, even with these alternatives, would not fit properly under the hard hat.
"I've seen multiple people of my skin color and my different hair types conduct their job more than efficiently with a hard hat," Harvey explained, noting that his hairstyle actually made the hard hat fit more securely.
"Go figure," he remarked.
Harvey said he was unwilling to cut his hair due to its cultural and emotional importance to him. Harvey retained Ben Lynch, a civil rights lawyer from Clive, the same night he was fired and sent home by TMC on a bus.
On June 25, Harvey submitted a civil rights complaint to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. According to Iowa law, he is barred from filing a lawsuit until 60 days after the initial complaint, which will be August 24.
As of this writing, TMC Transportation has not released a statement about the complaint.
