Caesars Palace to pay US$850,000 over sex harassment

The EEOC alleged in a suit filed in April 2005 that several mainly Hispanic women working in the resort’s kitchen were the victims of “repeated and sometimes severe” sexual harassment, a statement said.

The suit alleged that in some cases male supervisors had demanded sex from workers or face being fired. In addition, supervisors were alleged to have “performed other lewd acts on or in front of women”, the statement said.

Women who lodged complaints over the conduct of management suffered discrimination in the form of demotions, loss of wages, further harassment, discipline or dismissal, the EOCC added.

“In a case like this where many of the workers were monolingual Spanish speakers, victims of sexual harassment often feel further isolated ... and unable to vindicate their rights,” EEOC attorney Anna Park said.

“This case also illustrates that employers need to ensure their policies and procedures provide adequate avenues for complaint and redress to non-English speakers.”

Under the settlement deal, Caesars Palace agreed to pay US$850,000 to employees who had been harassed or retaliated against, the agency said.

Caesars Palace is owned and operated by the Las Vegas-based Harrah’s Entertainment, which took over the casino in June 2005, after the allegations surfaced.

Harrah’s spokesman Alberto Lopez said the supervisors implicated in the discrimination claim were no longer employed by the casino.

“We have resolved the matter amicably to bring closure to a subject that is almost five years old, nearly three years prior to Harrah’s acquisition of Caesars, and is alleged to have involved supervisors who haven’t worked at Caesars Palace for more than four years,” Lopez said.

“While we deny wrongdoing, it is in the best interest of all parties to put this matter to rest and move on,” he added.

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