In 2008, job applicant Christopher Woodson was turned away because he refused to cut his dreadlocks to comply with an 80-year-old appearance policy of Lawrence's. Woodson is Rastafarian and refused to cut his dreads on religious grounds, although he did offer to curl his hair up and wear a cap or head wrap. Lawrence said his hair wouldn't fit under a "uniformed hat."
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission then filed a lawsuit against the Roanoke-based Lawrence last September on Woodson's behalf for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964. An Employee Stock Ownership Plan committee told Lawrence, which is 100% employee owned, to stand its ground on Woodson, even though Lawrence admitted that the company could lose up to $400,000 in a lawsuit.
By doing so, Lawrence actually played the victim card: "The guy we're fighting is being represented with our tax dollars and he has absolutely, positively nothing to lose," the company said. The company suggested on its Facebook page on June 13 that as a private company it was above the law: "Do you think that a private business has the right to have and enforce a dress code?" it asked. Lawrence defended the policy, The Roanoke Times reported, because it said employees need to keep a professional appearance since they enter customers' homes and take their possessions. So a man with dreads is neither professional nor trusting?
The company even reached out to Rep. Bob Goodlatte for help. The congressman's spokeswoman was quoted in the Times in April saying that although he had concerns about the EEOC's handling of the matter, Goodlatte, R-6th (Roanoke, Lynchburg, Harrisonburg), could not intervene as a member of Congress, although his office did forward Lawrence's concerns to the EEOC. (Incidentally, Lawrence Transportation Systems has donated $2,500 to Goodlatte's campaign committee this election cycle.)
The original civil suit ended with a deadlocked jury in June. Finally, on Tuesday, Lawrence agreed to settle for $30,000 and to implement a slew of anti-discrimination initiatives.
Woodson said, "I hope that other employees, especially teenagers and young people, will take my experience as validation that the American dream still exists and that one’s faith does not have to hold a person back from working in a job that he is qualified to perform."
Yet, Lawrence pulled out the victim card again, with President Ron Spangler saying, "We still are convinced that we did not violate any laws, that we didn't discriminate. It just reinforces what the business community is saying about government regulations. We feel like this was a frivolous case taken to the extreme."
That's Lawrence Transportation Systems: "Dress codes" trumping civil rights and dignity since 1932.
The Silver Cos. donated 38 acres in Fredericksburg for the museum in 2002. A garden was formed but no building was erected. Experts believe fundraising has been a problem because the museum is not in Washington or Richmond, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened at the Smithsonian. Wilder, the nation's first elected black governor, said in a blog post in February that the recession was to blame. "Just because the endeavor has become more difficult for us to complete, that does not mean this board will quit on what we believe to be an important American mission," he wrote.
Wilder believed the museum would cost $100 million for construction, but as of its last tax filing in 2007, the museum only had $115,000 in assets other than the land, even though $4 million has been raised since 2001 (about one-quarter of it from Bill Cosby). Now, Fredericksburg is putting the land on the auction block – a process that could take up to 6 months – to recoup $215,000 in back taxes and interest after the deadline passed on Saturday, the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg reported Tuesday. Even worse, the museum owes $5.17 million to its architectural company after a court ruling in New York last year. Also, supporters who have donated artifacts are upset that they aren't being given clear answers on where they are.
University of Virginia professor and political guru Larry Sabato lamented last month, “Anyone who knows Wilder and who has listened to him about this understands that he cares about this. Why it’s ended up in this way I just can’t tell you, and I’ve never heard anybody explain it.”
An African-American who donated Jim Crow- and slavery-era artifacts was more blunt, calling Wilder's handling of the museum “a slap in the face of every African-American.”
The suit alleges that Kohn received "repeated, violent blows to the head" that caused a brain hemorrhage. The city originally believed Kohn died after colliding with another recruit. However, The Virginian-Pilot of Hampton Roads reported Tuesday that a state Department of Labor and Industry report found that "the victim received multiple hits to his head that ultimately lead to his death. ... The final hits to his head were when the instructor was standing over the victim in the ground fighting test."
Patricia Kohn said the doctor who operated on John saw damage from head trauma from earlier in the week. In fact, John complained about the exercise to others and his wife, and asked around if they knew the symptoms of a concussion. The report also said another recruit suffered serious head injuries. The autopsy has not been released yet.
The police department has now banned direct head blows, and implemented better training and reporting procedures.
But it's too late for Kohn and his family. Patricia was pregnant with their daughter when John died. Baby Sara is now 4 months old and will never meet her father.
The Norfolk Police Department: today's Worst Virginians in the World.
