Nevada gaming board close to considering sex harassment regulations
Sexual harassment prevention guidelines proposed by the state Gaming Control Board got the cold shoulder Tuesday, with just one person testifying on proposed regulations that board members might soon consider.
Elise Toti, assistant director of risk management and government affairs for Mesquite Gaming, told the three-member board that regulations reviewed in the second of two informational workshop meetings duplicated statutes already enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. She said the proposed amendments to Regulation 5 amount to overregulation and that the board already has the authority to file a complaint against a licensee that fails to comply with federal laws.
A proposed amendment to Regulation 5, the industry’s rules on the operation of gaming establishments and businesses, would add a section ordering licensees to maintain written policies and procedures addressing prevention, reporting and investigation of and response to sexual harassment in a licensee’s workplace.
The proposed regulation references a checklist every licensee would have to complete and file annually with the board.
The board conducted a hearing before about 100 people in Las Vegas on Sept. 21. Tuesday’s hearing in Carson City, linked to Las Vegas through closed-circuit television, drew about 20 people, including two in Carson City.
As the five-minute hearing ended, board Chairwoman Becky Harris said she probably wouldn’t conduct informational workshops in both locations anymore, because Northern Nevadans could address the board in Las Vegas through teleconference.
Harris said community advocates, employees, employers and at least one harassment victim already have provided written testimony to the board on the harassment prevention regulation. Authors of written testimony are allowed to keep their comments anonymous.
Harris said once all testimony is gathered, board members would have to determine whether to make a recommendation to the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo has said he doesn’t want to consider sexual harassment regulation proposals until after regulators in Massachusetts and Nevada complete their investigations of Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts Ltd.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission explained last week how it would approach the Wynn matter, but it hasn’t set dates for hearings.
Steve Wynn, who resigned as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts in February, has been accused of harassing employees and has denied all accusations. Harris has said the harassment regulations were drafted because of the national prominence of the issue and not as a result of the Wynn investigations.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.