Caesars Palace may be the first casino to debut the newest in sexy dealer fads: the Pussycat Dolls blackjack table staffed by by the hottest gas mask wearing women on the strip! Maybe not, but there's a good chance casinos will be developing a non-smoking option for gamblers and employees.According to the RJ:
A Caesars dealer who spent two decades at Caesars Palace has sued the Strip resort and parent company Harrah's Entertainment in federal court claiming that exposure to secondhand smoke forced her to quit her casino job.According to the story, a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health that assessed the levels of second-hand smoke in three casinos "found that chemicals associated with second-hand smoke exist both on casino floors and in the bloodstreams of casino employees." Yikes.
In a lawsuit that attorneys are seeking to have certified as a class action case, former blackjack dealer Tomo Stephens claimed Caesars Palace isn't doing enough to protect its workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, contends Caesars Palace, since being acquired by Harrah's in 2005, has removed nonsmoking gaming areas from the casino floor, forbids employees from designating certain gaming tables as smoke-free and encourages smoking among its customers . . .
The best part of the story for me is that the plaintiff quit her job when Caesars wouldn't let her work in a nonsmoking area of the casino. Nice call management. Cost of moving dealers around to different tables: negligible. Cost of defending a federal lawsuit: somewhere in the thousands or millions. Oh well, at least someone's finally standing up for smokers, I guess. [Thanks to WD for the tip]
Here's a copy of the Complaint in Tomo Stephens, et. al. v. Harrah's Entertainment Inc., et. al.:
Tomo Stephens Etal v Harrah's Entertainment Inc Etal Complaint
Another manufactured lawsuit. Didn't the last casino employee smoking suit just get dismissed a year or so ago?
ReplyDeleteI doubt they're going to get class certification...
ReplyDeleteCase bounced. No diversity of citizenship.
ReplyDeleteI DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GOING TO THE PROPER RECEIVING PERSONS. BUT, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT TO MAKE MY STAND PERFECTLY CLEAR. WHEN I STARTED DEALING IN 1980, I KNEW THAT SMOKING WOULD BE PRESENT IN MY WORK CONDITION. BUT AFTER ALMOST 30 YEARS OF DEALING, THERE HAS BEEN NO EFFORT MADE ON OUR BEHALF TO IMPROVE THE WORK CONDITIONS. IT IS MOST EVIDENT AT CAESARS PALACE. BEFORE HARRAHS TOOK OVER, WE HAD NO SMOKING TABLES AND WE COULD ASK PEOPLE TO NOT BLOW SMOKE IN OUR FACE. WITH HARRAHS, THEY TOOK AWAY THE NON-SMOKING TABLES AND WE WERE TOLD THAT IN NO WAY WERE WE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS TO RUDE PLAYER THAT BLEW SMOKE IN OUR FACES. ALSO, IF YOU READ SOME OF THE ARTICLES, IT STATES THAT I MYSELF AM NOT SEEKING MONETARY COMPENSATION. JUST A BETTER WORK ENVIRONEMENT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE STILL WORKING UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. BY THE WAY, IF YOU THINK THAT THE SMOKE ISN'T KILLING YOU. I AM GETTING BETTER HEALTHWISE EVERY DAY THAT I AM AWAY FROM CAEASARS. I NOW LIVE IN CALIFORNIA AND I HAVE NOT HAD TO BREATH IN A PUFF OF SMOKE SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE. THE GAMBLERS WHO SMOKE, DO SO WITHOUT ANY REGARDS TO OTHER PEOPLE. THEY BLOW SMOKE IN YOUR FACE AND MAKE NO PRETENSE TO HOW THEY CAN AFFECT THE HEALTH OF DEALER AND THE NON-SMOKING PLAYERS. MOST DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE ASTHMA, BRONCHITIS, OR EVEN PREGNANT. SO, IT IS UP TO YOUR EMPLOYER TO PROTECT YOU AS MUCH AS THEY CAN. IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO ME OR ASK ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO AT MY E-MAIL ADDRESS tomostephens@aol.com (Delete)
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