The attorney behind a former Nevada Gaming Control Board department head believes that a racial discrimination lawsuit should progress, despite the board’s earlier effort to dismiss the legal action. The attorney said that there was sufficient evidence to support claims that a former board member had been discriminated against by a person who fostered a hostile work environment.
NGCB Member Allegedly Fostered a Hostile Environment
The allegations claim that Jaime Black, who was a former board member, was the target of discrimination from fellow board member Brittnie Watkins. According to the complaint, the latter violated the Civil Rights Act’s Title VII and fostered a hostile work environment for Black and in general.
Title VII, for context, protects people in labor organizations, employment agencies and training programs from being discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin at their workplace.
The lawsuit says that Watkins allegedly tried to convince Black to engage in discriminatory hiring practices. When Black declined, Watkins allegedly fostered a hostile work environment.
Attorney Says the Suit Should Move Forward
The lawsuit was filed in September but the NGCB tried to dismiss it on October 24. The board insisted that it has never engaged in any discriminatory practices. The board added that it never judged hires based on race, sex or religion, but rather sought the most suitable candidates for the position.
The NGCB insisted that Black’s allegations were baseless and unsupported by evidence.
Reno attorney Mark Mausert, however, thought otherwise. In a 24-page response, he claimed that there is sufficient evidence to confirm that Watkins discriminated against Black and fostered a hostile work environment.
Mausert argued that when all allegations are considered in totality and in context, the complaint could be fairly viewed as a plausible fact pattern or story, supported by facts. As a result, the attorney believes that the measures outlined in Title VII should be applied.
Man Took Ticket Resellers to Court
In the meantime, a Nevada plaintiff hit a couple of ticket resellers in the state with class-action lawsuits. Filed on behalf of Mars Carbonell, the lawsuits accuse SeatGeek Inc. and Vegas.com LLC of drip pricing. According to the plaintiffs, the platforms leveraged hidden fees to inflate the ticket price, violating existing customer protection laws.
The two lawsuits request statutory and compensatory damages set by the court or jury, demand prejudgment interest and seek reimbursement of attorney’s fees and restitution financial relief.