Jump to full article: Des Moines (IA) Register, 2009-01-29
Author: JEFF ECKHOFF
Intro: A former driver for a Grimes concrete company contends he was fired because of a combination of racial discrimination and retaliation for his complaint about illegal smoking in the business.
Kevin McNeil, an African-American, had worked for Concrete Supply of Iowa since June 2007.
He contends in Polk County District Court papers that a year's worth of racially charged incidents culminated last July when he protested another driver's public smoking in violation of the new state law that prohibited smoking in most businesses.
He was fired three days later.
McNeil's lawsuit, filed this week, alleges that Concrete Supply trampled his civil rights and violated public policy by punishing someone who turned in alleged lawbreakers.
The case is one of the first times an Iowa judge will be asked to extend whistleblower protection to someone who complained about public smoking.
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