A former field organizer for Donald Trump recently filed a discrimination complaint which accused the GOP presidential candidate hopeful of paying his female staffers less than male staffers.
Elizabeth Mae Davidson was fired from her position as Trump's campaign field organizer in Davenport, Iowa, on Jan. 14. According to The New York Times, Davidson was allegedly fired for "making disparaging comments about senior campaign leaders to third parties and breaking a nondisclosure clause in her employment contract." Davidson, however, denies saying anything negative about campaign leaders to the media.
The 26-year-old was fired the day after a New York Times article was published which criticized Trump's campaign leadership and quoted Davidson during a Jan. 9 campaign rally as she tried to enlist volunteers. The article described Davidson as "one of the campaign’s most effective organizers"
Davidson filed a discrimination complaint on Jan. 28, against Trump, which said "that men doing the same jobs were paid more and were allowed to plan and speak at rallies, while her requests to do so were ignored." Davidson added that when she and another female volunteer met Trump for the first time last summer, he said to them: "'You guys could do a lot of damage,' referring to their looks."
A full copy of the discrimination complaint, obtained by ThinkProgress, also states that Davidson has "suffered lost wages, mental anguish and damage to [her] career."
The Huffington Post reached out to Trump and Davidson's attorney but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Davidson was classified as a part-time staffer because she also worked as a paralegal. She was paid $2,000 a month, while several other male field organizers for Trump's campaign were paid between $3,500 and $4,000 a month, according to public records. Some of these male staffers were also part-time.
Trump told The New York Times on Jan. 31, that he never met Davidson but “my people tell me she did a terrible job.” He also denied making the "you guys could do a lot of damage" remark and said, "That is not the worst thing that could be said, but I never said it. It's not in my vocabulary."
Trump did not acknowledge Davidson's other allegations of unequal pay and sexist discrimination within his campaign.
Davidson's lawyer Dorothy O’Brien told ThinkProgress: “Davidson's a very intelligent, capable young woman who worked her heart out for the Trump campaign. And they treated her badly. But she’s a strong young woman and you know, it’s a tough time for her, but she’ll get through it.”
The discrimination complaint will stay with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission for at least the next 60 days. Once that time expires, Davidson can choose to leave her case with Davenport Civil Rights Commission or bring it to state court.
Note to our readers: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist,misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.
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