PALM BEACH, Fla. — PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- A former pastry chef at Mar-A-Lago is suing the club, alleging that he was fired in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment against two female employees.
According to the lawsuit filed Thursday, Graham Randall worked at Mar-a-Lago as an Executive Pastry Chef from September 2012 until Oct. 24, 2017, when he was terminated.
Mar-a-Lago is a resort and National Historic Landmark owned by President Donald J. Trump. It's often referred to as the "Winter White House" in media reports.
Randall alleges that in April 2017, two female pastry chefs complained to him about alleged sexual harassment at the hands of two senior managers, and that six months later he was terminated in retaliation.
Randall claims he reported the allegations of sexual harassment in April to human resources for investigation.
The lawsuit says that one of the women received "sexually offensive text messages" and another told Randall that she felt "intimidated" by one of the manager's "demeaning and sexually harassing behaviors towards her."
Randall claims that after human resources at Mar-a-Lago investigated the claims, both of the senior managers received written reprimands. It also says that both apologized to Randall for their conduct and that they both "thanked him for saving their careers."
Six months later, Randall was terminated, and claims that he was told the club was taking "economic losses" due to "seasonal cancellations by charitable organization of events at Mar-a-Lago."
The lawsuit disputes that claim, stating "Mar-a-Lago has profited immensely from President Donald J. Trump's election" and that the club "requested more foreign employees in 2017 and 2018 to fill its staffing needs."
WPTV has reached out to Mar-a-Lago for a comment or statement on the lawsuit and is awaiting a response.
Read the full lawsuit here:
