The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a suit on behalf of several black employees of the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas. The suit claims that since September of 2002, Golden Nugget management has fostered a "hostile working environment" for several black employees who say they were subjected to racial slurs and sexual advances from not only pit bosses and casino floor personnel, but from players as well. Furthermore, the suit says that when employees reported occurrences of this nature, they were warned by management not to speak of the matter anymore.

The suit was initiated by one man, Robert Royal, who in 2004, contacted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and informed them that his civil rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were being violated. After trying for two years to settle the case out of the court system, which included a request for a conciliation conference, Golden Nugget Casino informed the EEOC that all negotiations would cease. This, in turn, spurned the court lawsuit filed last Friday, and now includes the names of several other employees claiming the same allegations made by Royal.

It is not known just how many employees joined the lawsuit, and of those that did, whether or not they still work for the Golden Nugget Casino. A program analyst for the EEOC's Los Angeles District Office would not reveal details of the suit, but did say it now includes allegations of sexual misconduct, which is supported by an incident involving a casino floor supervisor who made unsolicited sexual advancements on a black female dealer. In regards to the suit itself, it requests that the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino implement an equal opportunity policy for female employees and employees of color, and that Royal and other employees be provided with back pay due to lost working hours, as well as other losses incurred as a direct result of discrimination.

A spokesperson for the Golden Nugget said that due to pending litigation, the casino could not comment on the lawsuit. When reporters from the Las Vegas Sun went to the casino to speak with floor workers two days ago (two of which were black), there were no confirmations of discrimination or being treated unfairly. One employee who had been working at the Golden Nugget for several years said he had never witnesses or heard of the kind of treatment that is being reported in the lawsuit.