Sahara to pay $100,000 to settle discrimination lawsuit

By Steve Green

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 | 10:38 a.m.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today said the current and former owners of the Sahara hotel-casino in Las Vegas will pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit the EEOC filed in behalf of a man of Middle Eastern descent who complained of workplace discrimination on the basis of national origin.

Without admitting liability or wrongdoing, the companies agreed to settle a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas last year in behalf of Ezzat Elias.

The EEOC said Elias was subjected to harassment by the Sahara based on his national origin (Egyptian) and that the Sahara didn't protect him from discriminatory conduct by coworkers and supervisors.

The EEOC lawsuit said the Sahara retaliated against Elias for engaging in activities protected by law regarding the allegedly hostile work environment including filing union grievances, filing a discrimination charge and working through the Sahara's internal complaint procedures.

"Charging party (Elias), who worked as a steady kitchen runner, was subjected to repeated harassment based on his national origin by supervisors and co-workers. The harassment included offensive comments, slurs, and epithets, such as being called 'Bin Laden,' 'Taliban,' and '(expletive) Egyptian'; and being told to 'go back to Egypt,''' the suit alleged.

The parties entered into a three-year consent decree that requires the Sahara’s former and current owners to pay $85,000 to Elias.

The hotel’s current owner will also pay $15,000 to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, the state entity charged with enforcing Nevada’s anti-discrimination laws, to fund education and outreach to the public on anti-discrimination issues.

The current owner also agreed to appoint an equal employment opportunity consultant and will review and revise its policies, training, and procedures to ensure they effectively address workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

"Under federal law, employees of all national origins are protected from this type of harassment," Anna Park, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, said in a statement. "We commend the current owners of the Sahara Hotel & Casino for working with the EEOC to change the hostile work environment uncovered in this case."

The consent decree was entered into by the former owner, Gordon Gaming Corp.; and the current owner, Stockbridge/SBE Holdings LLC.

Elias technically remains an employee of the Sahara, though he's currently not working due to a seasonal reduction in force, an EEOC spokeswoman said.