Las Vegas NowUgly Allegations of Racial Discrimination at Las Vegas Mall

Ugly Allegations of Racial Discrimination at Las Vegas Mall

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace is at the center of a workplace discrimination lawsuit dating back four years. The suit alleges that janitors were subjected to harassment and repeated insults because of their Hispanic heritage.

The corporation that owns and manages the Forum Shops calls the discrimination lawsuit preposterous and wholly without merit. But the Las Vegas Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it's one of the worst cases of workplace discrimination to ever cross her desk.

"The message is that this cannot be allowed to happen," said Lucy Orta, Las Vegas E.E.O.C.

Orta says her agency just filed a lawsuit on behalf of five Hispanic janitors who were subjected to a hostile work environment created by their supervisor in 2005.

"He subjected them to remarks like wetbacks," Orta said. "He didn't use their first names even though he knew full well what their first names were, he just referred to them as taco and burrito."

Orto claims the harassment went on for a year-and-a-half until the supervisor was finally terminated in 2006. Orta also says all five employees named in the lawsuit eventually left the company on their own because the harassment continued even after it was brought to upper management's attention.

"There was even a petition signed by 12 or 14  employees that this supervisor was harassing them," Orta said.

A spokesperson for the corporation, that owns and manages the forum shops, calls the discrimination lawsuit preposterous and wholly without merit.

"The Nevada Equal Rights Commission issued a finding of no probable cause and dismissed the action on the very same set of facts back in 2006," said Les Morris, Simon Property Group, Inc.

Morris says integrity and reputation are critical cornerstones in the company's and the Forum Shops' continued success.

"Three times in this decade, Fortune magazine recognized Simon Property Group, Inc. as the most admired company in the real estate industry and part of that is based on our employer-employee relations," Morris added.

The E.E.O.C. says it's seeking lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages and an injunctive relief to prevent and correct any future workplace discrimination.

Meanwhile, the Simon Property group say it does not plan to settle and it will vigorously defend itself.