Feds: Casino workers afraid of reprisal

By Liz Benston (contact)

Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed a sex and age harassment lawsuit against the Riviera Hotel and Casino -- and claimed casino workers industry-wide are afraid of reporting such harassment for fear of retaliation.

The federal agency expects to file two other suits against Nevada casinos this week.

The suits are a sign that the agency is becoming more aggressive about tackling an industry that has a long history of exerting tight control over employees on the casino floor, an employee advocate said.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of Jean Sylvia, a former casino floor supervisor at the Riviera.

Co-workers and supervisors at the Riviera for years subjected Sylvia, 61, to sexually explicit comments, images and behavior as well as age-derogatory comments, jokes and name-calling, the suit claims.

Executives at Las Vegas-based Riviera Holdings Corp. declined to comment.

Sylvia first brought the charges to the EEOC's sister agency, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, which transferred the case to the EEOC in 2000.

The agency is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the Riviera as well as injunctive remedies.

The EEOC has only filed a handful of complaints against casinos in recent years, despite a prevalence of similar situations across the industry, an EEOC attorney said.

Casino workers who have come to the EEOC for help have reconsidered their claims against casinos for fear of losing their jobs, said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC's Los Angeles district office.

"Particularly after 9-11, people have been very afraid of coming forward and losing their jobs. It's very clear that there's a fear factor going on," she said.

Discrimination is not a recent issue in the casino industry, said Tom Stoneburner, director of the Alliance for Workers' Rights.

The Reno-based organization has pressured the EEOC for years to step up its investigations of casinos. The agency is taking notice, he said.

"We felt that the EEOC is shirking their duty to take care of these things," Stoneburner said. "They have to very, very aggressively protect those people who come forward."

Many worker cases the agency has referred to the EEOC are eventually dropped because claims are difficult to prove, he said.

That prospect scares off many employees, he added.

"It's the kind of industry where if you even make a complaint against management, you might not be able to work in a good house again."

In Sylvia's case, Park said, other corroborating witnesses who cooperated with investigators later changed their minds.

"We commend Ms. Sylvia for speaking out in an industry where many employees are afraid of retaliation."

Representatives of the Nevada Resort Association trade group could not be reached for comment. The American Gaming Association, the casino industry's chief lobbying group, declined comment.

Casinos presented with such claims in the past have maintained that their employment policies are fair.

Sylvia was promoted from a dealer position to serve as a floorperson overseeing tables and pit transactions. The EEOC maintains that the Riviera later gave Sylvia an ultimatum to be terminated or demoted to a dealer job, which she claims she could not perform because of a health issue. The Riviera has disputed the conditions under which Sylvia was let go, though that is not the focus of the suit, according to the EEOC.

The federal agency is mandated to attempt a resolution with the employer before filing suit. Compensatory and punitive damages against employers are capped at $300,000 each.

Of 80,000 or so claims brought to the EEOC's attention each year, roughly 400 of the more egregious cases result in lawsuits, in part due to lack of resources, Park said.

The upcoming lawsuits against casinos involve pay and hiring practices, she said, declining to reveal specifics.