Trucker is being told to cut his hair “or he’ll be fired” after the company claimed it was a safety issue

A black man is suing an Iowa-based trucking company, claiming he was fired as a driver because he refused to cut off his dreadlocks.

Drew Harvey, 26, accused TMC Transportation and two of its employees of racism in a lawsuit filed Sept. 26.

Harvey applied to work for the company as a flatbed truck driver on June 4 and was scheduled to begin training on June 24, according to court documents obtained by People.

According to the complaint, Harvey was invited to a meeting with a human resources representative the day after orientation.

Harvey was allegedly told he had to cut his hair or be fired. According to the lawsuit, the reason given was that his hair posed a “safety issue.”

Drew Harvey, 26, has filed a lawsuit against TMC Transportation, claiming he was racially discriminated against and wrongfully terminated because of his hairstyle

In an interview with We Are Iowa, Harvey gave some insight into how that meeting with HR went.

“You did an excellent job,” he recalled being told. “But you have to get your hair cut by Friday or you won’t be able to continue the business.”

Harvey said his supervisor told him that it was company policy that employees had to have short hair so that the hard hats would fit properly.

Harvey claimed this was the first time he had heard of the company having a specific policy for its employees’ hairstyles.

To resolve the issue, Harvey said in the lawsuit that he offered to cut or style his hair differently.

The lawsuit also says he offered to wrap his hair or buy another safety helmet so safety wouldn’t be an issue.

The company allegedly rejected those suggestions and his employment was terminated, the lawsuit says.

Harvey, who had driven about six hours to work from his home in Crete, Illinois, was “sent home on a bus in tears.”

Harvey’s attorney, Benjamin Lynch, claims that TMC has not contacted them about the ongoing litigation

“TMC’s policies are racist and inconsistently enforced,” Harvey’s complaint states.

Harvey believes this because he claims he saw several other non-black employees, men and women, who had long hair and suffered no reprisal from the company.

Therefore, the lawsuit said this long hair policy was unfairly enforced and violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

The lawsuit argues that Harvey “will suffer injuries and damages, including, but not limited to, emotional distress, lost wages, loss of benefits, loss of future earnings and other benefits of employment.”

Harvey is seeking unspecified damages.

Benjamin Lynch, Harvey’s attorney, said his client is currently looking for work.

“This petition says he literally cried on the way home,” Lynch told People. “That’s a true statement that he was very upset about it. “He drove six hours to get here and on the second day he was locked up because of his hair.”

He continued: “So he’s upset.” It’s a real thing and we haven’t really found a solution to it yet because I haven’t received a response from TMC yet. So it’s worrying.’

Lynch claimed that over a dozen other former TMC employees had similar complaints to Harvey.

“So in addition to him.” [Harvey] “As he wants a resolution to his matter, he also wants to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” Lynch said.

DailyMail.com reached out to TMC for comment.