Security officers lose lawsuit

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002 | 11:19 a.m.

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by two former Jerry's Nugget security officers claiming they were discriminated against, harassed, denied promotion and fired because of their race.

Nathan Norman and Douglas Meaton, who are both white, sued Jerry's Nugget, claiming they were both terminated in retaliation for complaining about what they alleged was "unlawful race discrimination" to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.

Both Norman and Meaton said they were improperly disciplined numerous times for violating policies at the North Las Vegas casino.

But U.S. District Judge James Mahan dismissed Norman's claims, saying there was "undisputed evidence (that) clearly shows Norman wasn't performing to his employer's legitimate expectations.

"Norman had numerous attendance problems ... that prevented him from meeting the minimum qualifications for promotion and was a 'no call/no show' on the day he was terminated," Mahan said in his ruling.

Mahan also dismissed Meaton's claims, saying he had "numerous performance infractions and was caught reviewing confidential information regarding other security officers."

"Meaton's decision to review the confidential information was a severe breach of trust that warranted immediate termination," Mahan wrote.

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