Casino paying damages

Friday, July 18, 2003 | 11:39 a.m.

BLACK HAWK, Colo. -- The owner of a large casino has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to 36 former housekeepers who claimed they were ordered not to speak Spanish on the job, even among themselves.

Managers at the Colorado Central Station casino, owned until April by Nevada-based International Game Technology's Anchor Gaming unit, required employees to sign statements indicating they would speak only English while working. The workers' complaint alleged the policy violated anti-discrimination laws.

The casino is now owned by Biloxi, Miss.-based Isle of Capri Inc., which has eliminated the policy.

IGT will be responsible for paying the fine because it involved an action that occurred before Isle of Capri acquired the property, said John Bohannon, the casino's vice president and general manager.

Workers were told they could be disciplined if they violated the policy, even though the company knew many of them spoke no English when they were hired, said Evangelina Hernandez, a lawyer for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which represented many of the workers.

"It created an environment where people were afraid. They didn't feel good about themselves," Hernandez said.

Most of the housekeepers had little contact with casino clients, and the policy applied even to casual conversation among employees, according to depositions in the case.

The settlement requires Isle of Capri to train managers to deal better with non-English-speaking employees and how to handle discrimination complaints.

Twenty-five of the workers represented by the EEOC will split $315,000 in the settlement. Another 11 workers who filed individual lawsuits will split $1.21 million.