It was filed by Barbara Steiner, a floor person at Showboat Casino in Las Vegas, in the late 1980s. Segerblom handled one of the earliest lawsuits stemming from a casino supervisor sexually harassing an employee, and the one cited most often as a landmark decision. 'And I think that somewhat pervades in the casino industry overall.'Īdd to that the perception of Richard Segerblom, another Las Vegas attorney who specializes in employment discrimination at casinos: 'There's a perception that every woman in a casino is a prostitute'-a perception that is exacerbated by skimpy outfits-even though prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas.

'This is still a very male hierarchical industry that is tolerant of inappropriate behavior,' she said. Kathleen England, a Las Vegas attorney specializing in employment discrimination who also teaches sexual harassment prevention training to casinos, said the reason for the harassment stems from the image casinos have fostered and their history.ĭominated by males, casinos promote thrills and flashy, high-rolling excitement, or as England said, 'People come out here to be stupid, drink too much and carry on. She said she quit in January 1997, primarily because of the late hours. She filed a complaint with the human resources and soon she and the supervisor were given different schedules. Her supervisor stood behind her and began commenting to the players at her table 'about different body parts on me like I wasn't even there.' The woman, who spoke only on the condition that her name not be used, said the most disturbing incident occurred about two years ago while she was dealing blackjack.

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