When the news broke that Wynn Resorts former CEO Steve Wynn was accused of sexual harassment, it created a whirlwind in the gambling community. In Nevada, regulators felt that it was time to make changes regarding the sexual harassment and discrimination regulations, so changes were made and must be implemented by March 1st. By next month, operators must begin submitting their policy regarding both categories and their operations.
New Regulations
In Nevada, all licensed gaming operators who have 15 or more employees must create and implement a policy that will ban all types of harassment and discrimination. The policy approval was given not long after allegations arose involving Steve Wynn. For decades, Wynn reportedly sexually harassed employees, behavior that he denies to this day.
While he did deny the allegations, Wynn paid millions in settlements to individuals who accused him of such harassment. In February 2018, the accusations caused Wynn to resign from the company and eventually he sold his shares as well.
Wynn Resorts tried to distance themselves from Steve and went so far as to restructure the company’s board in the hopes of moving past the mark the accusations made on their brand.
Within the new regulations put in place by Nevada gaming regulators, operators must adopt as well as implement policies and procedures that prohibit harassment or discrimination in the workplace based on an individual’s color, race, sex, gender identify, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, ag, religion or gender expression.
Some operators in Nevada are not happy with the change as they say that they already have such guidelines in place. These operators feel it is unnecessary to create new guidelines when they already have ones in place that ensure employees will be protected if they are harassed or discriminated against.
Do It Anyway
It appears that the Gaming Control Board doesn’t care that such policies are in place. They are doing everything they can to ensure that players are protected and that such behavior is not tolerated under any circumstances.
When the allegations against Wynn came out, it was made known that higher ups within the company knew about the allegations and did nothing to help the employees. This is of course, unacceptable behavior and the gaming board wants to ensure that operators understand this.
By following the regulations and creating new guidelines, the operators will have procedures in place that will show how such incidents will be investigated and what will happen based on violations.
Any casino found to be in violation of their policies could be fined for their actions. It is also possible that suspension or a revocation of the gaming license could take place as well.
The date is quickly approaching for operators to have their procedures and policies in place. Will anyone delay or avoid completing the action? We shall see in the coming days as March 1st draws near.
