Current:Home > ScamsA Black man says a trucking company fired him because he couldn’t cut off his dreadlocks-InfoLens
A Black man says a trucking company fired him because he couldn’t cut off his dreadlocks
View Date:2024-12-23 14:19:52
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.
veryGood! (9612)
Related
- New 'Yellowstone' is here: Season 5 Part 2 premiere date, time, where to watch
- SpaceX says its ready for another Starship test: FAA still needs to approve the launch
- SpaceX says its ready for another Starship test: FAA still needs to approve the launch
- Eminem's Pregnant Daughter Hailie Jade Reveals Sex of First Baby
- 2024 'virtually certain' to be warmest year on record, scientists say
- Fossil Fuel Interests Are Working To Kill Solar in One Ohio County. The Hometown Newspaper Is Helping
- Halle Bailey Seemingly Breaks Silence on Split from DDG
- Why Anna Kendrick Is Calling on Rebel Wilson to Get Another Pitch Perfect Movie Rolling
- How Ben Affleck Really Feels About His and Jennifer Lopez’s Movie Gigli Today
- Tammy Slaton's Doctor Calls Her Transformation Unbelievable As She Surpasses Goal Weight
Ranking
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- New York Yankees back in ALCS – and look like they're just getting started
- Pilot’s wife safely lands plane in California during medical emergency
- 1 person killed and at least 12 wounded in shooting at Oklahoma City party
- 1 monkey captured, 42 monkeys still on the loose after escaping research facility in SC
- The Daily Money: Inflation eased in September
- Appeals court maintains block on Alabama absentee ballot restrictions
- Oregon's Traeshon Holden ejected for spitting in Ohio State player's face
Recommendation
-
Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
-
Colorado has become Coach Prime University, sort of. Not everyone thinks that’s OK.
-
North Carolina football player Tylee Craft dies from rare lung cancer at 23
-
Texas man held in Las Vegas in deadly 2020 Nevada-Arizona shooting rampage pleads guilty
-
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
-
Amanda Overstreet Case: Teen Girl’s Remains Found in Freezer After 2005 Disappearance
-
Montana businessman gets 2 years in prison for role in Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol
-
Texas football plants flag through Baker Mayfield Oklahoma jersey after Red River Rivalry