LAS VEGAS (AP) – Unions representing 65,000 casino workers in the Las Vegas area on Monday accused some resort operators of putting employees at risk of illness and death during the coronavirus pandemic by skimping on measures safety as a requirement for the use of masks.
“They want to work, but they want to work safely,” Culinary Union executive Geoconda Argüello-Kline said of housewives, cooks, waiters, vehicle valet and others. “We will do whatever it takes to protect these workers, these families and this community.”
A lawsuit filed Monday in the United States District Court in Las Vegas does not directly cite the death last week of Adolfo Fernández, 51, a Caesars Palace doorman and member of the Las Vegas union who was diagnosed with the COVID-19 respiratory illness after returning to work when Casinos reopened on June 4 after a three-month shutdown.
However, Fernández’s daughter, Irma Fernández, told reporters that her father had expressed concern that she would become ill.
The lawsuit points to the experiences of restaurant employees at Harrah’s Las Vegas, valets and doormen at Signature Condominiums towers at the MGM Grand resort, and restaurant kitchen workers at Bellagio Casino.
He accuses the properties of operating for almost three weeks without requiring guests to wear face masks and covers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 respiratory illness. Seeks a court order under the federal collective bargaining law to compel resorts to tighten security measures.
Harrah’s operator Caesars Entertainment declined to comment on the lawsuit. A company spokesperson acknowledged Fernández’s death with a statement that did not name him. He said authorities had not determined how he had contracted the virus and noted that some coworkers had been placed on paid vacation in self-isolation.
Representatives for MGM Grand and Bellagio owner MGM Resorts International did not immediately respond to messages.
“The defendants recognized the critical importance of wearing masks … by requiring that their own employees wear masks at all times,” the civil lawsuit states.
But despite “overwhelming evidence of the importance of requiring guests to cover their faces in public areas of casinos and hotels,” the document says, “the defendants, along with other casinos and hotels in southern Nevada, only ‘ they encouraged guests to wear face masks. “
“This irresponsible act undoubtedly led to the spread of COVID-19,” the complaint said.
Nevada has reported increases in recent days in the number of people diagnosed with the virus. Just under 18,000 people tested positive, state health officials reported Monday, and 504 died.
“We are not just numbers. We are families too. We are human, ”said Sixto Zermeno, a 10-year-old MGM Grand Signature employee who said he noticed little social distancing and few guests wearing masks before he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 11.
Zermano, 32, said he was concerned about infecting his parents and that he had not seen his 9-year-old daughter in several weeks.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms for two to three weeks. The vast majority recover. Older adults and people with existing health problems can face serious illness and death.
During the financially devastating closure of the casino imposed in mid-March, union leaders consistently asked Governor Steve Sisolak, the Nevada Gaming Regulatory Board and the Clark County Commission, which oversees the Las Vegas Strip, to impose strict security measures for workers.
“We have been very vocal at every (location),” Argüello-Kline said Monday. She said 19 union members or people in her immediate family have died from COVID-19 since the outbreak in Nevada began.
Sisolak last Wednesday raised what had been a health safety recommendation about facial liners to a requirement.
“No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service,” said the governor. “In order for Nevada to remain safe and open, we must make facial coatings a routine part of our daily lives.”
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