Las Vegas Hotel Sued Over Employment Discrimination Allegations

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 05/20/2023

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Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino

According to recent reports, the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino has been sued by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) following allegations of employment discrimination. The hotel and casino resort was accused of discriminating against employees with disorders and disabilities, and the EEOC filed the court action in Nevada in April.

It was claimed that the gaming property did not provide these employees with what was described as ‘reasonable accommodations’ for at least five years. One of the breaches the property stands accused of is firing an employee with colon cancer who had to wear a colostomy bag, as they claimed that this would put the health of other employees at risk.

It was further claimed that an employee who suffered from back issues was made to work at a blackjack table rather than being allowed to work at a craps table. The employee had sciatica as well as back pain, according to reports in Law.com.

Other Issues Raised

In addition, a number of other issues were highlighted in the report. This included claims that the management at the casino over-scrutinized and threatened discipline too readily. What’s more, it was claimed that managers at the casino took retaliatory action against employees who decided to exercise their employment rights.

It was also reported that a number of employees at the property felt forced to give up their jobs because of the way management acted in relation to their health issues. This included issues such as sciatica and levoscoliosis, which results in curvature of the spine.

The government agency is now seeking financial damages from the casino property on behalf of those affected, and this includes punitive damages as well as compensation. In addition, a request for an injunction against the company is also being made by the EEOC.

Law professor Robert Jarvis expressed his horror at the failures of the company. He said:

There simply is no excuse for any employer to violate the ADA. Given this fact, ADA violations today almost always are intentional. It certainly sounds like Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino’s alleged violations were intentional.

He added that it was over three decades ago when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and it was hard to believe that there were still employers that were failing to follow the requirements.

More Workers Now with Disabilities

According to Jarvis, the rapid aging of the population in the United States meant that there would be more workers who had disabilities and were covered by the Act. Over 60 million or 25 percent of American adults have some sort of disability, according to the professor. He said that these figures came from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Worryingly, Jarvis claims that a lot of employers are still biased against disabled people, adding that casinos, their HR departments, and legal teams needed to familiarize themselves with the ADA.

The legal action was filed in federal court in Las Vegas by the government agency due to failure to reach a pre-litigation agreement.