A U.S. District Court judge in Denver recently ordered RCH Colorado, owners of the Reserve Casino Hotel in Central City, to pay 0,000 to four women who were let go after officials at RCH Colorado, which purchased the property in a bankruptcy sale, commented it had “too many old, fat, ugly and gray-haired employees.” The new owners also used pictures of employees “to screen out older, less-attractive employees,” according to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission against RCH Colorado, based on the women’s complaints.
Besides the settlement, the court ordered the casino to operate under a 3½-year consent decree requiring discrimination training for employees and regular reporting to the EEOC, a settlement document stipulated.
Prior to going bankrupt, the Reserve Hotel Casino was known as the Fortune Valley Hotel and Casino with 300 employees. Lawsuit filings said employees, who were fired as part of the bankruptcy sale, were invited to reapply for their jobs with the casino’s new owners. All four women who reapplied for their jobs were long-term employees. Two of the four women who were let go, Diane Knox, then 62, and Natalie Gilbert, then 58, were the oldest slot attendants. Constance Hediger, then 63, was the oldest cocktail server. Eva Pridmore also was let go. A 40-year-old man with less experience was hired as a slot attendant, the lawsuit stated.
Denver EEOC attorney Laurie Jaeckel said the EEOC did not seek a class-action judgment against the casino because RCH Colorado is in receivership. She noted discrimination against older, female workers is an ongoing problem. “This is just a reiteration of what is a wide spread problem for older women. They experience discrimination in unique ways,” Jaeckel said.
