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Community Corner

RESORTS' DESIRE TO CREATE NEW IMAGE FUELS ILLEGAL AND DISCRIMINATORY EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

In October 2010, Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey began plans for re-branding by adopting a Roaring Twenties theme. However, this transformation of Resorts has fueled litigation over a host of legal claims for illegal and discriminatory employment practices.

Recently, Blanche Morro, known as “Blanche the Singing Bartender” reported health and safety hazards due to renovations within Resorts Casino to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In less than a month Resorts had eliminated her position as Atlantic City's Only Singing, Multi-tasking Bartender.

Blanche the Singing Bartender had a bar dedicated, built and named for her by the President of Resort Operations, Mr. Dennis Gomes. Mr. Gomes witnessed her abilities, and gave her a "free hand" to market and innovate this new and unique talent where she hosted at Resorts’ 25 Hours Bar and Lounge. While singing and operating the karaoke machine, Blanche took and prepared drink orders by reading customers’ lips, never missing a beat. She quickly garnered national media attention and even appeared on the formerly syndicated "Rosie O'Donnell Show".

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In its hasty attempts at self-reinvention, Resorts has abandoned many standard safety precautions. Jack hammers drilling into concrete and the careless removal of decades-old carpeting resulted in the release of toxic fumes within the casino. In April 2013 Blanche tried to no avail to get Resorts to take proper measures to protect the health of its workers. In May 2013, her concerns to Resorts falling on deaf ears, Blanche filed an official complaint to OSHA.

Blanche became ill and her vocal cords were severely damaged from breathing in the toxic fumes. Forced to take a medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, within weeks Blanche was advised that her position as the Singing Bartender had been “eliminated.” She intends to file a lawsuit against Resorts and is presently represented by The Douglass Law Firm, a boutique practice in Northfield, specializing in employment and civil rights law.

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But Blanche is not the only former Resorts employee to fall victim to the casino’s shady employment practices. In June 2012, Atlantic City resident, Shakeia Green, an African American female, was fired from Resorts after a background check erroneously found criminal convictions for drug offenses in the State of Florida. Green, a single mother of two, who also operates a New Jersey licensed children’s day care, had been working part-time as a Resorts security guard in an attempt to make ends meet.

Ms. Green has never even been to Florida and has never been convicted of a criminal offense in her life. Indeed, she operates day care for which she is required to pass a rigorous background check by the State of New Jersey. The person Resorts actually obtained information on, Shakia Green, with a different first name spelling also had a different social security number and date of birth. Ms. Green immediately brought this to the attention of Resorts and had the Atlantic City Police Department assist her by calling Resorts to inform them that this Ms. Green was not the Ms. Green that Resorts had obtained the criminal information. Resorts refused to take the call.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires employers to conduct accurate background investigations. If the employer plans to take adverse employment action based on information obtained in the investigation, it must provide that information to the employee to allow for the correction of any false information. 

Ms. Green, also represented by The Douglass Law Firm, has filed a lawsuit for Fair Credit Reporting Act violations against Resorts. Resorts did a shoddy job on the background check by not verifying any of the information to confirm whether the information about Ms. Green was accurate. It wasn't.

These employee violations fall on the heels of yet another controversial employee lawsuit. Resorts came under fire in April 2011 after fifteen older and middle-aged cocktail waitresses, some of them longtime employees, were fired after they "did not look good enough" in revealing new uniforms introduced as part of the resort's Twenties makeover. Several former employees filed a pending discrimination lawsuit against the company for the incident.

Has the desire to create a new image led Resorts to disregard the civil rights of its female employees? Has the casino’s Roaring Twenties theme spilled over to its treatment of its female employees? It appears Resorts has brought back not only the style of the age, but also its working conditions.

 

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