The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas has reached an $850,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving allegations of religious discrimination.
Alongside the settlement, the operator has agreed to implement significant policy changes via a three-year consent decree.
The suit charged the Venetian with violating federal law by “refusing to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of a class of employees, which included a diversity of faiths as outlined in the complaint”.
The resort allegedly retaliated against employees who opposed these supposed anti-religious acts.
The suit was filed before the resort’s sale by Las Vegas Sands to affiliates of Apollo Global Management and VICI Properties for $6.25 billion in February 2022.
Alongside the monetary settlement, the consent decree will provide further training to all Venetian employees, managers, and supervisors on employee rights and employers’ obligations regarding religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Venetian will also be required to retain a third-party, independent monitor to assist with the review and revision of its religious accommodation policies and complaint procedures, as well as the tracking of the Venetian’s compliance for the 36 months it is under the consent decree.
“The law protects the rights of workers in our pluralistic society to live out their various faiths in the workplace,” said EEOC acting chair Andrea Lucas. “As this case shows, reasonable accommodation might look like, among other things, allowing certain days off for Sabbatarians or Buddhists and allowing beards for Orthodox Christians. It also means not punishing anyone who speaks out in favor of these rights.”
Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District, commented: “We commend the Venetian Resort for their cooperation in the early resolution of this lawsuit and agreeing to implement proactive measures to ensure religious accommodation requests are handled more effectively.
“Employers are reminded of the importance of understanding their obligations under Title VII in accommodating religious beliefs of their employees, especially after the US Supreme Court clarified the standard for granting religious accommodations.”