NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A former pastry chef at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Graham Randall, alleges he was fired for exposing sexual harassment against his female colleagues.
In the lawsuit, Randall alleges that two female employees came to him with complaints of sexual harassment in April 2017. According to the lawsuit, pastry chef Chelsea Braswell came to Randall, who was her direct supervisor, with complaints that she received “sexually offensive text messages” from the Mar-a-Lago food and beverage director Aaron Fuller and executive chef Brandon Boerean.
The lawsuit also claims that later that day, Randall was approached by pastry chef Elisa Cordon, who complained of a similar situation. Randall, who held a position below Fuller and Boerean, instructed both Braswell and Cordon to report what they told him to the human resources department.
Braswell and Cordon reported their experiences to human resources, and shortly after, Randall was interviewed by human resources director Janine Gill on two separate occasions. During one of these interviews, Gill allegedly told Randall that Fuller and Boerean’s actions could result in their being fired. However, Gill later told Randall that Fuller and Boerean had been given written reprimands. According to Randall, the two men later thanked him for reporting their actions.
Six months later, Randall was let go at the start of a new “season” for the resort. Mar-a-Lago claimed the firing was due to a loss in income from cancelled charity events. Randall claims this was in retaliation because he had suggested that pastry chefs Braswell and Cordon both be brought back on as employees during the new season.
Carney Shegerian, the founder of Los Angeles-based employee rights law firm Shegerian & Associates, has weighed in on the lawsuit.
“The alleged retaliation against Randall shows the repercussions that many employees face and fear for reporting for sexual harassment,” Shegerian says.
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