Nevada Gaming Panel Considers New Rules On Harassment And Discrimination

The new rule addressing sexual harassment will be brought to the commission for consideration later this month. The chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission believes that there is a valid amount of new substance to be proposed to the commission.

Tony Alamo, who is also the chairman of the commission stated that he would remain reluctant to consider a regulation outlining penalties for sexual harassment against Nevada gaming licensees until further complaints involving former Wynn Resort Ltd. Chairman and the CEO Stove Synn were fully resolved.

Complaints Being Completed

There was a five-count complaint filed against Steve Wynn accusing him of sexual harassment at the resort and requesting that the commission revoke his finding of suitability to hold the license at all. The complaint was filed by the state Gaming Control Board previous week.

On this comment, Wynn has been denying that he has ever harassed anyone. Though, the Control Board has not indicated any response to the complaint made by Wynn.

For about a year and a half, the board has been crafting amendments to Regulation 5 to strengthen the commission’s ability to require licensees to better monitor sexual harassment in the workplace.

earlier this week, Control Board has unanimously approved a new amendment that not only involved the sexual harassment topic but covered other forms of workplace discrimination as well.

“Different work product”

Amendments to regulations were first proposed by former Control Board Chairwoman Becky Harris. When she was replaced in January, her successor, Sandra Morgan, continued the work.

While board members were unanimous in their support for the amendments, the question remained whether the commission would consider them.

Tony Alano, the chairman of the commission has been interviewed, stating that “it is a different work product,” “It’s more global and broader and doesn’t inspire a reaction from a situation in the past. We’ll see what the commission feels like. It’s about harassment and discrimination. It’s not so polarizing from one scenario.”

The amended regulation is supposed to be considered by the commissioners at the meeting which will be held on the 21st of November. If the regulation is approved by the commissioners, it will take effect immediately.

However, a new section requiring a licensed gaming establishment to maintain written policies and procedures prohibiting workplace discrimination or harassment would not be enforced until the first day of the fourth month following the month of adoption, which would be March 1st if the amendment is passed in November.

This Is Way Behind The Schedule 

While the earliest versions of the proposed regulation focused on sexual harassment, the new amendment approved by board members covered more ground. It is important for Nevada to maintain the leading role in the regulation of the gaming industry.

“Nevada is often referred to as the gold standard for gaming regulation and I think it’s imperative among us as regulators to remember why and to ensure that what we do is not necessary to maintain but to raise the bar for other jurisdictions who regulate gaming,”

“We’re the only state that has had legalized gaming for half a century and we have a strong, rich history that those involved are held to high standards.

“It’s time that we acknowledge specifically in our gaming regulations that our licensees must have and implement policies that ensure that the half a million gaming industry employees will not be subject to workplace discrimination or sexual harassment based on their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability or national origin,” Sandra Morgan, Contol Panel chairwoman stated. “This is well overdue.”

Apparently Sandra was not alone in this, and several other representatives supported her with their following statements.

“I think it is a reasonable regulatory approach to a very important public policy issue and throughout the prior discussion on this, I had some concerns about the degree to which those regulations as drafted or costly potentially to the regulator to enforce and the regulated to comply with,” board member Terry Johnson said. “So I’m very pleased to see the approach that has been taken.

“It doesn’t take the gaming regulators out of their core mission of gaming regulation, but nonetheless, impresses upon licensees and amplifies their existing responsibilities to ensure their workplaces are free of sexual harassment and discrimination of any type,” Johnson said.

“This seems to be nothing more than an extension of something that should have been in there a long time ago.” Philip Katsaros, the board member further added.