Ex-chef's lawsuit against Mar-a-Lago claims retaliation for harassment complaint
The former executive pastry chef at Mar-a-Lago is suing President Donald Trumps private club and two senior managers claiming he was laid-off in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment against two female chefs.
Graham Randall, who worked at the club in Palm Beach from 2012 to 2017, reported to the clubs human resources department complaints he received from two young chefs who said they had been targets of sexual harassment, including lewd text messages, by two married, high-level food and beverage managers, according to the lawsuit.
Mar-a-Lagos management looked into Randalls claims and Randall was interviewed as part of the investigation, which resulted in both managers receiving written reprimands and apologizing to the women, according to the lawsuit. About six months later, in October 2017, according to the suit, the managers who were reprimanded then laid him off, saying the club expected to lose $2.5 million from charity fundraisers that were canceled in the wake of the presidents comments about a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one woman dead.
Randall, who has also filed a federal employment discrimination action against the club, did not believe their explanation, saying in his complaint that at the same time the club was hiring more foreign guest workers than it had the year before, including pastry chefs.
Read more: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190128/ex-chefs-lawsuit-against-mar-a-lago-claims-retaliation-for-harassment-complaint