EEOC accuses Riviera of retaliating against workers

By Liz Benston (contact)

Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday filed suit against the Riviera, alleging that the property retaliated against workers for cooperating with a previous EEOC investigation into alleged discrimination at the hotel.

The suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Las Vegas, marks the federal agency's second in two years against the Riviera.

The EEOC accuses the Riviera of firing a senior floorperson and a cocktail server for serving as witnesses in the EEOC's ongoing suit against the Riviera. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and the reinstatement of former floorperson Ronni Hill and former server Jo-Anna Harris as well as "similarly situated individuals" who were allegedly retaliated against for participating as witnesses.

EEOC officials said they filed the suit after exhausting efforts to reach a settlement with the Riviera, a process mandated by federal law.

Riviera Chief Financial Officer Duane Krohn said the company hasn't yet been served with the suit and declined further comment.

The previous suit was filed by the EEOC in September 2002 on behalf of former floorperson Jean Sylvia. That suit is set for trial in January.

Anna Park, a regional attorney for the EEOC, said the latest suit is atypical because most companies see discrimination suits as a "wake-up call" and managers "take extra steps to ensure that discriminatory acts will not continue."

"Retaliation is an insidious form of discrimination because it punishes workers for speaking up about discriminatory practices and all but ensures that the practices continue by creating a culture of fear," Park said.

Worker advocates have said the EEOC is becoming more aggressive about addressing discrimination claims in the casino industry.

But EEOC trial attorney Samantha Blake said recent EEOC suits have spawned more complaints.

"It's sort of a cumulative effect," she said. "I think people have been emboldened because they've seen the work that we are doing."

The first EEOC suit claims Riviera co-workers and supervisors for years subjected Sylvia to sexually explicit comments, jokes and name-calling as well as derogatory comments and name-calling based on her age. The EEOC alleges that Sylvia's complaints to management were rebuffed or ignored. The Riviera has denied the claims.

Sylvia, 63, first brought the charges to the EEOC's sister agency, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. NERC transferred the case to the EEOC in 2000.

While some corroborating witnesses eventually came forward, others who cooperated with EEOC investigators later changed their minds for fear of losing their jobs, Blake said.

The EEOC is charged with enforcing federal laws protecting workers from discrimination based on age and sex. The agency filed a lawsuit this year against the Reno Hilton this year and also recently settled a case against the Little Waldorf casino in Reno.