Tommy Rice, a former employee of Tri County Transport, Inc., has filed a lawsuit against his previous employer and associated parties, alleging wrongful termination and other grievances. The complaint was lodged in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on January 23, 2026. Rice accuses Tri County Transport, Inc., Tri County Pallets, Inc., People’s Check Services, Inc., and several individuals of engaging in unlawful employment practices that violated his rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The case revolves around Rice’s claims of retaliation and hostile work environment following an incident involving a DOT-mandated observed drug test. According to the complaint, Rice was subjected to inappropriate conduct during this test by Eric McCoy, the owner and specimen collector at People’s Check Services. Rice alleges that McCoy’s actions were sexually intrusive and constituted harassment. Despite completing his training successfully and being scheduled to receive his own truck, Rice was terminated shortly after raising concerns about the drug test procedure with his supervisors.
Rice asserts that his termination was not due to performance issues as claimed by the defendants but rather a retaliatory action for reporting what he perceived as sexual harassment. He highlights discrepancies between the reasons given for his dismissal and documented evidence of his satisfactory performance during training. Additionally, Rice claims that false information provided by McCoy influenced his termination and affected future employment opportunities.
In response to these alleged violations, Rice is seeking several forms of relief from the court. He requests back pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress and reputational harm, punitive damages for malicious conduct by the defendants, and corrective action regarding employment records. Furthermore, he demands a jury trial to address these grievances comprehensively.
Representing himself pro se in this legal battle, Tommy Rice aims to hold Tri County Transport and its affiliates accountable for their actions. The case is presided over by Judge Barker with Magistrate Judge Greenberg also involved in proceedings under Case No. 5:26-cv-00188-PAB.
Source: 526cv00188_Rice_v_Tri_County_Transport_Inc_Complaint_Northern_District_Ohio.pdf
