Drew Harvey, a 26-year-old Black man, was two weeks into his new job at TMC Transportation when he was told by a supervisor he was doing a “splendid job.”
But that supervisor also warned him he would be fired if he did not cut off his locs.
Believing he was being racially profiled, Harvey complained to human resources but ended up getting terminated.
Now, he has filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission alleging racial discrimination, which is the first step in filing a lawsuit. He is not the first Black man to be fired from the company over wearing locs.
TMC Transportation, a trucking company based out of Des Moines, Iowa, told Harvey it has a policy in place forbidding long hair on the basis that the required hard hats employees must wear would not fit properly.
But Harvey’s complaint included several photos of white employees with long hair who apparently were not subjected to the same policy. And Harvey’s attorney, Ben Lynch, represented another Black man in 2021 who was fired for the same thing and also filed a complaint.
Harvey, meanwhile, has moved back to his hometown in Crete, Illinois, after having relocated to Iowa for the job.
Previous Incident
Damon Mitchell, a Black man from Texas, described a similar story in 2021, saying he relocated to Iowa to obtain his commercial drivers license and work with TMC Transportation but was told he needed to cut his locs due to policy about wearing a hard hat.
“I didn’t fail out of school, I didn’t do anything wrong,” Mitchell told KCCI at the time.
“I was high spirits, I had high hopes and I went there ready to give this company everything that I had, with the best of my ability. And my hair did not have an influence on my job performance,” he added.
Mitchell filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and eventually agreed to a non-disparagement agreement with TMC Transportation that forbids him or his attorney from discussing details of the case, according to the Des Moines Register.
“I don’t know why this is happening in 2024,” Lynch told the Register about the latest termination. “Drew is the nicest guy in the world. He should be exactly who you want at your company.”
Harvey said he wears his hair in locs to pay respect to his father, who passed away several years ago and used to braid his hair.
“Being an African-American, and just understanding where my people are from, our hair is very deeply tied to our spirituality as well as our moral beliefs,” he told the Register.
“I have not cut my hair since the day my father passed away four years ago … My dad would braid it up for me.”
Employee Statements
In preparing his case against TMC Transportation on behalf of Mitchell, Lynch obtained statements from several TMC employees who expressed support for Mitchell, including a white man who said he was initially told to cut his long hair during training but then regrew it and the issue was never brought up again.
George Ball told Lynch that he believes TMC Transportation trainers harass new employees with longer hair as part of a “hazing” ritual.
“When I made it to training, I believe it was the 2nd day, the trainer called me out in front of the class telling me I have to have my hair cut to shoulder length by Wednesday of that week. The trainer didn’t make any effort pull me aside to have this conversation and felt it was completely appropriate to have in front of everyone. If I didn’t cut my hair, they would terminate me. I tried to tell him that recruiting stated my hair wouldn’t be an issue. He recited the policy and told me I had to or quit or be terminated.
I ended up cutting my hair straight across should length. I haven’t had another haircut since that day. I have gone to other training classes and have been seen by maintenance and it doesn’t appear to be an issue. There’s at least two male maintenance techs at the terminal in Brownfield, IN. who have long hair.
From my experience, it seems more like a hazing in training if you show up with long hair. They seem to take pleasure in calling you out like they are boot camp sergeants. I was embarrassed and humiliated about being called out in front of class so I can only imagine what others may experience.”
Another employee, a Black man named Nolan James Seward, who said he referred Mitchell to the company, stated he once took pride in working for TMC Transportation, but that was no longer the case, according to a post he wrote on his Facebook page in 2021.
“If the FMSCA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) does not impose restrictions on hair length, then neither should TMC,” he said. “The company claims to need drivers but when you get someone willing to be an asset to your company, you treat them with complete and utter disrespect and denial to make a better life for themselves.
“On this day, I am ashamed to say I worked for TMC and I will surely never point a driver your way until this despicable wrong has been made right.”
However, that was in 2021, and the company has not changed its policy, which is allegedly enforced in a discriminatory manner.
“If (Harvey) were a white man in a similar position, I believe that he would have been treated differently,” attorney Lynch told We Are Iowa.
