Christian V. McOmber, Peter D. Valenzano, Anna F. Esposito, and Jennifer C. Iodice represent Maria Hadley in alleging entrenched gender discrimination, pervasive sexual harassment, and retaliation at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. Hired as a Banquet Server in February 2023, Ms. Hadley alleges she entered a workplace rife with gender discrimination and sexual harassment, where female employees were forced to do physical labor while men stood by and watched, senior male leaders refused to provide proper fitting uniforms, told female employees to “smile more,” and stood by and excused the inappropriate and sexually harassing behavior of clientele simply because they were men and “paid a lot” to be at the club.
Ms. Hadley also alleges she was retaliated against for doing her job: reporting serious legal and ethical violations and refusing to ignore unlawful practices. According to the complaint, a male bartender served an underage female employee alcohol without her knowledge or consent. After lodging a complaint, Human Resources and senior leadership dismissed Ms. Hadley’s concerns, alleging they did not believe her because the bartender was a “hard worker.” The Complaint further alleges a culture openly hostile to women, including differential treatment and retaliation against those who spoke up.
After escalating her complaints, Defendants allegedly carried out a campaign of reprisal, aimed at making Ms. Hadley’s work environment so unbearable that she had no choice but to resign. Defendants were successful, as in August of 2025, Ms. Hadley was constructively terminated from her position. This lawsuit seeks to expose unlawful conduct and obtain redress under NJLAD and CEPA for discrimination, a hostile work environment, and retaliation against a whistleblower who refused to stay silent.
“As alleged in her Complaint, Defendants targeted Ms. Hadley because she refused to tolerate pervasive gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and serious legal and safety violations that put employees and customers at risk. Instead of correcting these unlawful and dangerous practices, Defendants chose retaliation, punishing the whistleblower rather than addressing their own misconduct. At its core, this case exposes Defendants’ deliberate efforts to silence accountability. We stand firmly with our client as she seeks to hold Defendants responsible for their actions.” – Jennifer C. Iodice, Esq., McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C.
