The Trump-loving boss at a large commercial cleaning company told employees he was happy to solicit business from Christian churches but that mosques were off-limits because he did not want Muslims as customers, according to a federal workplace discrimination lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.
In her complaint, 49-year-old Allison Creveling, a former business development manager at Southern Cleaning Service Inc.’s Jacksonville, Florida office, says she “personally witnessed” a top executive openly demean women and minorities, reserving a particular animus toward those of the Muslim faith.
“By way of example, when [Creveling] suggested approaching a local mosque as a potential client, an approach consistent with another business development manager’s practice of soliciting churches, [Regional Vice President of Operations David] McDowell reacted with a strong objection and stated that he would not allow a Muslim client,” the complaint alleges.
McDowell’s conduct “set the tone for his operations team, which followed his lead,” according to the complaint, which describes the culture at Southern Cleaning as “openly hostile” toward non-whites, and “infused with inappropriate political and religious messaging.”
“In addition to verbal remarks, the Jacksonville office displayed Donald Trump paraphernalia in common workspaces,” Creveling’s complaint states. “Employees who expressed political views differing from McDowell’s were disparaged or marginalized, reinforcing an atmosphere in which dissenting viewpoints were discouraged and punished.”
When Creveling brought her concerns to higher-ups, she was fired, the complaint contends.
The attorney representing Southern Cleaning, which is based in Springville, Alabama, did not respond Monday to requests for comment. Messages sent to McDowell, who is not listed as a defendant in the case, went unanswered.
Southern Cleaning Service Inc. was founded in 1983 “with a commitment to exceptional customer service and long-term client partnerships,” its website tells prospective clients. “Over the years, we have grown into a full-service facility maintenance provider offering cleaning and supply management, consulting, equipment and supply services, polished concrete maintenance, outdoor and landscaping supplies, and propane fuel sales.”
Creveling was hired at Southern Cleaning on April 15, 2024, according to her complaint. Soon after she started, Creveling claims she began to recognize “a pattern of systematic hostility within the workplace,” with a Black colleague, for one, being subjected to “overt racial discrimination” by their supervisors, according to the complaint, which was initially filed February 12 in Florida state court and removed to Jacksonville federal court on April 24.
At the same time, management pitted the two against each other by telling Creveling’s colleague that she was badmouthing him around the office, which the complaint says was a way of “manufacturing hostility between them under the guise of fostering ‘competition.’” Once Creveling discovered what had been happening, she told a supervisor, who did nothing, according to the complaint. The coworker, meanwhile, became disillusioned and quit without notice, which the complaint says caused “confusion” among leadership.
Creveling was also forced to abide by rules her male counterparts were not, the complaint continues. While the men on her team routinely showed up in jeans and company-logoed quarter-zips, when Creveling wore the same outfit, she was told not to wear jeans because it was “not ladylike,” the complaint states. About a month after she was onboarded, Creveling claims she offered some constructive criticism during a sales meeting but was met with hostility by a manager who allegedly told her she should “quit working and go get a sugar daddy.”
The workplace culture at Southern Cleaning was “openly hostile toward women and minorities and was infused with inappropriate political and religious messaging,” the complaint adds. It says Creveling “personally witnessed McDowell make discriminatory remarks concerning women, African Americans, Muslims and other demographic groups,” laying out details of his refusal to “allow a Muslim client” on the company roster.
Memorabilia and items expressing support for Trump were showcased throughout the office, with those expressing dissenting political views being “disparaged or marginalized,” the complaint states. Another time, McDowell reportedly approached a Black employee and fashioned a noose out of the man’s scarf, saying he would be hanged if he failed to close a certain sale. Creveling’s complaint says she also watched a regional sales manager mock the same employee’s Parkinson’s disease by imitating his tremors. In response to Creveling pointing out that this could be seen as offensive, the sales manager said that he “still found it humorous,” according to the complaint.
“Such insensitive comments and discriminatory conduct were made on a recurring basis throughout [Creveling’s] employment,” the complaint states.
In the spring of 2025, Creveling – who had been awarded a smaller year-end bonus than at least two of the men she worked with, even though she billed more than both of them combined, according to the complaint – brought her concerns to senior leadership. However, when she sat down with them in person, she says she found her personality being “intensely criticized,” while management defended McDowell and the others. Creveling then followed up with an email elucidating her concerns, the complaint says.
On April 11, the day after she sent the email, Creveling, who had recently been offered a promotion, was terminated without explanation. Although HR confirmed to Creveling that she had not been fired for cause, she was contacted three days later by a former client who said Southern Cleaning was claiming she had been let go for “poor performance,” according to the complaint.
This “defamatory statement” was intended to “damage [Creveling’s] professional reputation and interfere with her future employment opportunities in retaliation for her protected complaints of discrimination,” the complaint states.
Last Friday, Southern Cleaning’s attorneys filed an answer to Creveling’s allegations, denying each in full and claiming the company made “good-faith efforts” to counter and prevent workplace discrimination. It further maintains that any comments or statements to which Creveling objected are in fact considered protected speech under the Constitution.
Creveling is now seeking general, compensatory, and punitive damages to be determined by a jury, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.
