Employees of the New York Gaming Commission (NYGC), which oversees all current gambling as well as three future downstate casinos, have alleged in an investigative piece by Emilie Munson of Albany’s Times Union that the agency provides a “toxic” work environment rife with sexual harassment, racial discrimination, political favoritism and bullying.
The commission is charged with ensuring a clean, well-regulated gambling industry in a state where billions of dollars are wagered at casinos, on the lottery, on horse racing and through sports betting each year.
According to the Times Union report, state employees allege there is a darker side to the agency where staff are subjected to hostile working conditions and complaints are ignored, insufficiently addressed or handled with retaliation, according to interviews and lawsuits filed against the agency.
Incidents described by employees include a Klu Klux Klan sign and a swastika on display in the agency’s headquarters and other discrimination based on sex, race and disabilities. The allegations mirror those in four lawsuits that have been filed against the agency.
There also were reports of employees using illegal drugs at the agency’s headquarters.
“I quickly realized this was not a normal workplace,” Di Ma, a former assistant counsel for the commission, told the Times Union. “I can never work in state service again under the same leadership.”
Larry Maylock, an auditor for the Lottery division of the commission for more than 30 years, called the agency “the most toxic organization in the state.”
Other employees described working at the commission as “a nightmare,” “dysfunctional,” and “hostile.”
The agency also settled two age-discrimination lawsuits brought by former employees in the past four years, paying out $75,000 but admitting no wrongdoing. Recently, the commission settled another case alleging sexual and race-based harassment.
According to the Times Union report, the state Office of Employee Relations, which investigates allegations of workplace discrimination, has received 41 complaints from NYGC employees since December 2018 and substantiated 10 of them.
“The morale is so poor at the Gaming Commission, and staff turnover is overwhelming,” a person wrote to the governor’s office in an anonymous letter last year obtained by the Times Union.
The letter described alleged sexual harassment and bullying at the agency. “It is difficult for the agency to find staff because it is known across agencies how difficult it is at the Gaming Commission,” the author wrote.
The office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded to the report of the letter by saying there was no record of having received it, but spokesman Avi Small added, “Governor Hochul has made clear that there’s no place for harassment and abuse in her administration, and since taking office in 2021 she has taken significant action to implement new policies, trainings and workplace protections that support and protect the state workforce.”
The commission, led by Executive Director Rob Williams since 2013 and overseen by a group of five commissioners, has publicly disputed the allegations of a toxic or hostile work environment.
Their statements to the Times Union argue that the commission has a dedicated workforce, with many employees having decades of experience both within the agency and in other areas of state government.
