Nick Penzenstadler

USA TODAY

Two female employees at Donald Trump’s companies have alleged that they were fired in recent years after complaining about sexual harassment at work, a review of court records shows.

In an interview with a USA TODAY columnist, Trump stirred controversy when he said he would advise his daughter Ivanka to “find another career or find another company” if she faced the same harassment as alleged in the allegations against former Fox chief Roger Ailes. Former anchor Gretchen Carlson accused Ailes in a lawsuit of serially harassing her and forcing her out after declining his advances. On Tuesday, Eric Trump, vice president of the Trump Organization, told CBS This Morning that Ivanka wouldn’t “allow herself to be subjected to that” and that Ivanka would take those allegations to human resources.

An ongoing USA TODAY Network review of more than 4,000 legal actions involving Trump and his companies showed two related to sexual harassment. They were among about 130 labor disputes involving Trump and his sprawling business empire over the past three decades.

New USA TODAY interactive database shows Trump lawsuits surpass 4,000

Trump’s assistant general counsel Jill Martin, who handles labor claims, said the Trump Organization “has a strong policy and does not tolerate harassment of any kind.”

“We promptly investigate any claims and discipline upon substantiation of those claims and have an open door policy to encourage reporting of any discrimination,” Martin said Tuesday.

While not an exhaustive review of employee complaints to state authorities, the two lawsuits provide a backdrop for the GOP's nominee for president in light of his comments about harassment.

Trump and the Law

Last week, a former employee of Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, Fla. alleged in a lawsuit that she faced “persistent, unwelcome sexual advances” from a supervisor in a previously unreported case. The woman, Erin Breen, who supervised the course’s Trump Kids Club, a child activity center, alleged she alerted Trump’s human resources department and her supervisor after the alleged harassment. The course fired her two weeks after first raising concerns with her supervisor, she alleges.

Trump’s attorneys have yet to file an official response, but Trump’s vice president Martin called the allegation “completely without merit” and said, “We look forward to defeating her claims in court.” In addition to a federal lawsuit, Breen filed complaints with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Trump’s employees and management at his hotel in Chicago defended a lawsuit in 2010 over similar circumstances. A female server at Sixteen Chicago, a restaurant inside Trump Hotel and Tower, alleged that she was subjected to “unwanted and offensive touchings” and “offensive sexual material” by another worker.

The server, Nausheen Nurani, claimed she approached a general manager in 2008 about the issues and was fired two weeks later. She also filed claims with the EEOC and Illinois Department of Human Rights. Trump’s attorney’s fought the case, but after a judge ruled against tossing it, it was dismissed and settled out of court in March, 2010 with undisclosed terms.

Over 30 years, Trump companies faced at least two dozen claims of employment discrimination for age, sex or race.

Dive into Donald Trump's thousands of lawsuits

One woman claimed in court that she was fired after complaining about being denied shifts because of her appearance, though it was filed as a case of age discrimination, not sexual harassment. The allegation was part of a wide-ranging suit by employees of his golf course near Los Angeles over working conditions from 2006 to 2008. Among the group of nearly 1,000 employees was Lucy Messerschmidt.

Messerschmidt, a restaurant hostess, alleged she routinely was rotated off shifts whenever Trump himself visited the course because Trump “likes to see fresh faces” and “young girls,” according to court documents. “I was fired after I complained about age discrimination (i.e. not being scheduled to work when Donald Trump was on the premises because of my age and Mr. Trump’s known preference for young, pretty women in the hostess position,” Messerschmidt wrote in an July 2013 declaration filed in the class-action lawsuit.

Messerschmidt, who was in her 40s during her time of employment, also alleged that she and other non-management employees were not allowed to take meal or rest breaks during their work shifts. Messerschmidt declined to comment about the case. Trump’s company settled with its employees for $475,000 in 2013.

Martin, Trump’s assistant general counsel, said Trump’s labor claims are small compared to similar-sized businesses. “As we know, not all allegations are true and we have been very successful in proving those claims of discrimination are not true,” Martin said.

Kevin McCoy contributed to this report.