Three years after settling a discrimination case with a truck driver trainee fired for having dreadlocks, TMC Transportation is facing another lawsuit alleging the trucking company did the same thing to another trainee.
On Sept. 26, former TMC Transportation truck driver trainee Drew Harvey filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines, Iowa-based company in a Polk County district court. Harvey is accusing the company of discrimination after he was fired over his dreadlocks.
On June 4, Harvey applied for a flatbed truck driver position with TMC Transportation. He got the job and began orientation on June 24 in Des Moines. Harvey rented a car and drove to his orientation from his home in Crete, Ill., which is about 350 miles away.
Just one day into orientation, Harvey was told to report to human resources, where he was instructed to cut his dreadlocks or be fired. He was told his hair was a safety issue.
Harvey, a Black man, told TMC Transportation’s HR department that his hair is important to his culture and spirituality. He offered alternative solutions to cutting his dreadlocks, including trimming his hair, styling it differently or wearing a hair wrap or a different hard hat. Harvey was told his offers were unacceptable and was subsequently fired.
The next day, Harvey filed employment discrimination and harassment charges against TMC Transportation with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. According to his attorney, Ben Lynch, the commission issued a right-to-sue letter after the trucking company failed to respond to the charges within 60 days.
According to the lawsuit, Harvey saw several non-Black employees with long hair, including men. TMC Transportation’s social media also showed employees with long hair.
Listen to Harvey’s attorney, Ben Lynch, talk to Land Line Now about the discrimination case against TMC Transportation:
TMC Transportation’s hair policy does prohibit men from having long hair. However, women, including female truck drivers, are allowed to have long hair. Lynch told Land Line Now that the company claims the policy is based on safety, but he believes it is a grooming policy based more on esthetics. He called the policy “racist and inconsistently enforced.”
“We believe that even if they’re following their policy, which we don’t agree with, it hasn’t been enforced correctly,” Lynch said. “We believe that my client, based on his dreadlocks, was unfairly targeted, and they just chose to enforce the policy on that day.”
This is not TMC Transportation’s first time facing a discrimination lawsuit after firing a Black man for having dreadlocks. In 2021, the company settled a lawsuit filed by a Texas man who was also fired over his dreadlocks on his second day of orientation.
Lynch said dozens of current and former Black TMC Transportation employees had similar experiences, with some being flown in from across the country only to be quickly sent back home due to their dreadlocks. He hopes the latest lawsuit will result in policy changes that will end future discrimination.
TMC Transportation has remained silent on the issue. As of Oct. 11, neither Harvey nor Lynch have been able to get answers from the company. Land Line Now News Anchor Scott Thompson reached out to TMC Transportation about the lawsuit and received a reply of “no comment.”
CROWN Act
Several states have laws protecting people from race-based hair discrimination, and a federal bill addressing the issue is currently before Congress.
The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which the official campaign website describes as “the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots.” The CROWN Act was created in 2019 by personal care company Dove and the CROWN Coalition, which includes the National Urban League, Color Of Change and Western Center on Law and Poverty.
Currently, some form of the CROWN Act has been enacted in 27 states and dozens of municipalities. Iowa is not one of those states. State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, introduced CROWN Act legislation in 2021 and 2022, but neither bill gained any traction.
In the U.S. Congress, lawmakers are trying to get the CROWN Act signed into federal law.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., in April filed the CROWN Act of 2024, followed by a Senate version by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
According to the CROWN Act website, race-based hair discrimination remains a systemic problem in the workplace, starting from hiring practices and carrying into daily workplace interactions. As Lynch pointed out, hairstyles in the Black community, including Harvey’s dreadlocks, are much more than just a fashion statement.
“What I’m finding is that dreadlocks are a little bit more important to people of color than it is to white people,” Lynch said. “So it goes deeper than just, ‘Hey, cut your hair. Can you style it in a different way?’ It’s unique to them. It’s a cultural identity and something that you can’t just take away from them.” LL
Land Line Now News Anchor Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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