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- Casino owners will have to pay out $250K to four women who brought lawsuit
- New owners made comments that there were “too many old, fat, ugly and gray-haired employees”
- New owners also used pictures of employees “to screen out older, less-attractive employees”
- Younger, more attractive workers were hired to replace terminated older, less attractive employees, suit alleges
The owners of a Colorado casino will have to pay out $250,000 to four women they refused to employ based on their age and their looks.
The casino in question is the Reserve Casino Hotel in Central City. The property was previously known as the Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino. All casinos in the state must be licensed and follow stringent guidelines including in regard to its hiring practices.
From the Denver Post:
The penalty was levied Tuesday by a federal judge after the casino’s parent company, RCH Colorado, was sued by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The casino also will operate under a 3½-year consent decree that requires discrimination training for employees and regular reporting to the EEOC, according to a settlement document filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The EOEC opted not to pursue a class action suit as the property is currently in receivership.
The four women who filed complaints — Diane Knox, Natalie Gilbert, Eva Pridmore and Constance Hediger — were each let go in January 2011 following the property filing for bankruptcy sale.
Knox, Gilbert and Pridmore, each in their late 50’s to early 60’s and with extensive years working for the casino, were the oldest slot attendants working in the casino. Following their termination, a 40-year-old man with less experience was assigned to that position. At 63, Hediger was the oldest cocktail server at the time of her firing.
At the time, the new casino owners made comments that there were “too many old, fat, ugly and gray-haired employees,” according to the lawsuit.
The new owners also used pictures of employees “to screen out older, less-attractive employees,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit cited other examples of the casino’s new owners hiring younger people to work as valets, wait staff and security.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
