Equal Rights panel fines Republic over complaint

By Timothy Pratt

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

The agency charged with enforcing the state's workplace discrimination laws decided Wednesday to fine Republic Services of Southern Nevada for impeding the investigation of a former worker's complaint.

It was the first time the Nevada Equal Rights Commission used a fine to get a company to cooperate.

The commission's five members voted unanimously to fine the trash-collection company $500 for not supplying information needed to determine if a worker has been discriminated against.

"Before this, we used to sit on our hands and wait, but we can no longer do this if we want to establish our reputation as an agency," Anita Laruy, chairwoman of the commission, said.

It was also due to vote on fining three other companies in Wednesday's meeting -- The Venetian, Golden Acres of Nevada and Great American Cookies -- but all three settled with the agency.

Republic Services has 30 days to pay or respond, at which point the commission can take the company to court.

In other business, Commission Administrator Lynda Parven told the group the agency's backlog has continued to drop -- another move key to improving the agency's reputation.

Its cases now date back to 1999, where at one time the agency was responding to 6-year-old complaints, Parven said.

"At the same time, we've had to cut our general budget by 3 percent and haven't been able to fill a vacancy for an investigator -- so we have more cases in progress than ever before," she said.