LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A former golf department manager has filed a federal lawsuit against the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association, alleging he was demoted and then fired because of his age and in retaliation for complaining about a hostile work environment.
Matthew Lewarn, a Saline County resident, filed the complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. and Magistrate Judge Ervin.
The suit brings claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, back pay, lost benefits, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
According to the complaint, Lewarn began working for the POA in March 2012 and spent more than a decade as golf sales and operations manager. The suit says he consistently generated revenue and received strong performance evaluations.
In January 2025, the POA demoted Lewarn to golf operations manager, the complaint says. The suit alleges the association justified the move by calling him an “order taker” rather than a salesperson, a characterization it says ignored his documented performance and length of service.
The complaint names POA General Manager Kelly Hale and Ken Unger, who it says was promoted to general manager of the golf department in January 2025. It alleges both engaged in repeated verbal abuse, public belittlement and the use of foul and derogatory language toward Lewarn. The suit says Lewarn’s direct supervisor, Tom Heffer, was aware of conflict between Lewarn and Unger as early as November 2024.
On May 5, 2025, Lewarn filed a formal complaint with the POA’s human resources department alleging a hostile work environment tied to his age, according to the suit. The same day, he began FMLA leave for stress-related medical conditions, which the POA approved in a letter dated May 16, 2025.
The complaint alleges the POA contacted Lewarn about work matters during his leave, interfering with his FMLA rights.
In July 2025, Lewarn contacted human resources to ask about the status of his complaint and what protections would be in place when he returned, the suit says. It says the POA’s only response was a July 28, 2025, letter from human resources manager Duane Tarbert stating an investigation had found nothing to substantiate the complaint and directing him to return to work.
The POA terminated Lewarn by certified letter on or about Aug. 7, 2025, according to the complaint. The suit says the association claimed he had abandoned his job by failing to return after his approved leave expired and by failing to provide a medical release from his physician.
Lewarn disputes that. The complaint says his 12-week FMLA entitlement had not expired and that he remained willing and able to return to work. It argues the timing of the termination, coming shortly after his HR complaint and during his leave, supports an inference of retaliation.
The suit also alleges a broader pattern. It claims employees 40 and older were disproportionately demoted, marginalized or terminated, while younger employees with comparable or lesser qualifications were promoted to supervisory positions. It says Lewarn’s duties were reassigned to one or more substantially younger workers.
The complaint cites an Aug. 25, 2026, POA board meeting at which Hot Springs Village resident and golfer Mark Drew described high turnover in the golf department under Unger and called on the board to form an independent investigative committee. According to the suit, Drew also told the board the POA had forced the retirement of the former manager of Granada Golf Course, who died two weeks later.
Lewarn received a right-to-sue letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 24, 2026, the complaint says.
He is represented by Jenny Holt Teeter of Gill Ragon Owen in Little Rock.
The Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association had not filed a response in the case as of Friday. The allegations in the complaint have not been proven in court.
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