Fired worker wins appeal in lawsuit

Monday, Aug. 5, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A warehouse worker who was fired from Caesars Palace in 1994 has won her sexual discrimination lawsuit again, this time in a federal appeals court, which ruled she was treated differently from her male co-workers.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 7-4 decision, said Catharina Costa presented "overwhelming evidence that she was more harshly treated than her male co-workers."

Costa, who worked at Caesars from 1987 to 1994, was originally awarded $264,000 after a trial in Las Vegas. Caesars appealed that decision, and the case ended up in the federal appeals court.

Costa, in the federal appeals court decision, was called a "trailblazer."

"She has worked most of her life in a male-dominated environment, driving trucks and operating heavy equipments," the decision said.

At Caesars, Costa was a member of Teamsters Local 995, the only female in the warehouse. Her work was called "excellent" and "good."

But she was treated differently and unfairly compared to her male counterparts, the court decision found.

The court said Costa "was frequently warned and even suspended for allegedly hazardous use of equipment and use of profanity, yet other Teamsters engaged in this conduct with impunity."

Her male co-workers received overtime, but she was refused when she applied, according to the court. One superior told her a man was chosen because he had a "family to support." She said she was treated as "an outcast."

Caesars maintained Costa had prior conduct problems and that was the reason for her dismissal.