Holly V. Hays and Mark Alesia | IndyStar

Robert Scheer, robert.scheer@indystar.com

Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A former Indianapolis city employee alleges in a reverse discrimination lawsuit that he was fired in part for vocally supporting President Donald Trump and wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Indianapolis, Michael J. Dale claims he was fired unlawfully because of his race, his age and in retaliation for engaging in free speech. He worked as a supervisor in the Department of Public Works.

The complaint identifies Dale as a "Caucasian" born in 1958. He was fired in April.

"Defendants have treated significantly younger, non-Caucasian employees and employees who did not engage in protected speech ... more favorably in discipline than it has treated Dale," the lawsuit alleges.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are the city of Indianapolis, the deputy director of Public Works and a union president. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday.

In 2016, Dale wore a "Make America Great Again" hat to work and spoke with several colleagues about his support for then-candidate Trump, according to the complaint. Dale claims that some time later a representative of a local union spoke about Dale being a Trump supporter during a staff meeting.

In November 2017, Dale said he and several other older superintendents were asked how long they planned to continue working.

In April 2018, Dale was terminated for "lack of leadership," according to the complaint.

The Office of Corporation Counsel, which represents the city, did not respond to a request for comment. Typically, it does not discuss pending litigation.

About 80 percent of workplace racial discrimination charges filed in 2016 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission were from African-Americans, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

White people had the second-most workplace discrimination charges at 12 percent.

One of Dale's lawyers told IndyStar that the firm was successful in a 2010 reverse discrimination case against the Marion County Coroner that went to a federal appeals court.