An Illinois man alleges he was fired by a Des Moines company for not cutting his dreadlocks

Days into training at a Des Moines-based trucking company, an Illinois man was allegedly fired for refusing to cut off his locs.

He's since filed a civil rights complaint against the company for discrimination.

Drew Harvey, 26, of Crete, Illinois, came to Des Moines on June 23 for training with TMC Transportation. Training started on June 24, however, on the second day, he claims he was wrongfully terminated for his hairstyle.

"I was one of the top performers ... I was thinking my instructor might be giving me a little bit of praise for doing a good job," Harvey told the Des Moines Register. "I was getting ready to walk into the classroom and he stopped me and said, 'You need to go talk to HR before stepping into the classroom.'"

Harvey, who is Black, says he was given an ultimatum: cut off his locs or be terminated.

"I was talking to the vice president of HR, and he basically tells me, 'You need to either buzz cut by Friday or you cannot continue employment with us,'" he said.

TMC Transportation did not respond to requests for comment from the Register.

Harvey says he provided the company with alternatives like trimming his hair or wrapping the locs so they would conform to the company's standards and fit into the hard hats employees are required to wear. He claims the company was concerned the hard hat would not fit properly with his hair as it was or with those alternatives.

"I've seen multiple people of my skin color and my different hair types conduct their job more than efficiently with a hard hat," said Harvey, adding his hairstyle actually secured the hard hat a bit tighter.

"So go figure," he said.

Harvey said he did not want to cut his hair because it's culturally and emotionally significant to him.

"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 said. "I have not cut my hair since the day my father passed away four years ago ... My dad would braid it up for me."

Harvey hired Ben Lynch, a civil rights attorney based in Clive, the night he was terminated and TMC sent him home on a bus.

This is not the first time TMC has been accused of racial discrimination. In 2021, Damon Mitchell, a Texas native, came to Des Moines for training and was let go for his hairstyle. He also wore his hair in locs.

Mitchell agreed to a non-disparagement agreement with TMC after he sued the company and is unable to comment.

Lynch also represented Mitchell and said he thinks the company has shown a pattern that "goes way beyond safety measures with wearing a hard hat."

"I don't know why this is happening in 2024," Lynch said. "Drew (Harvey) is the nicest guy in the world. He should be exactly who you want at your company."

Harvey said he has not found a job since returning home to Illinois.

"I don't want this to continuously be a problem for people of my skin color and ethnicity," he said. "We should not be subjected to these types of discriminatory claims."

Harvey filed the civil rights complaint to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission on June 25. Under Iowa law, he cannot file a lawsuit until 60 days after the original complaint, which is Aug. 24.

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: An Illinois man alleges he was fired by a Des Moines company for not cutting his dreadlocks