A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn’t cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.
Drew Harvey, 26, of Crete, Illinois, accused Des Moines-based TMC Transportation of racism in the lawsuit filed last week in state court against the company and two of its employees. The company didn’t immediately respond Monday to phone and email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Similar issues have arisen in places like Texas, where a Black high school student was suspended because of his dreadlocks. And in Kansas, the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns over a grade school forcing an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural reasons.
In Iowa, Harvey was hired as a flatbed truck driver in June. But one day after beginning orientation, his instructor told him to report to human resources, where he was told his hair was creating a “safety issue” and that he needed to cut his deadlocks or be fired, the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, Harvey said his hair was “important to his culture and spirituality” and he offered to address the concerns by trimming his hair, styling it differently, wearing it in a hair wrap or purchasing a different hard hat.
But the lawsuit said the company told him the proposals weren’t acceptable. Fired, he was sent home on a bus in tears, the lawsuit said.
The suit said the policy was inconsistently enforced and a violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Harvey said that during his short time with the company, he observed several non-Black male and female workers who had long hair. The suit said he was even more upset when he learned online that TMC previously fired another Black man for the same reason.
Harvey is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
