In an effort to combat sexual harassment and abuse on the job, housekeepers and cocktail servers for large casinos in Las Vegas will have a sexual harassment panic button. The panic button looks like a car remote. When pressed, it alerts managers. The button sends the name and room number of the employee signaling the trouble.
Las Vegas Sexual Harassment
In a United Here (an international labor union that represents service and hospitality workers) survey, almost 60% of the Las Vegas cocktail servers polled and 27% of the hotel housekeepers said they had been sexually harassed by guests, managers, or others while on the job. Also, 72% of the cocktail servers and 53% of the hotel housekeepers surveyed said guests had done something to make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Hollywood seems to be the focus of widespread sexual harassment. However, working-class women in the restaurant and hospitality industry have the highest rates of sexual harassment on the job.
About the Sexual Harassment Panic Button
Since sexual harassment is so rampant, labor unions in Las Vegas asked some of the largest casinos to help. Two major casino operators, MGM Resorts International and Caesar’s Entertainment, agreed in contract negotiations with unions to give the panic buttons to workers who are vulnerable to sexual harassment. The labor contracts cover 36,000 service workers. These are workers at the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, MGM Grand, Caesar’s Palace, and other iconic casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
Technovation Solutions, a Chicago based company created the panic button. More than 50 hotel properties across the country already use their technology. Once activated, it sends out important information to the authorities. The authorities receive who sent it, location and length of distress. If the worker moves locations, the system notes this change and informs authorities.
These buttons were part of the contract negotiations that prevented a labor strike. These casinos earned a profit of $814 million last year. This is an almost 200% increase from 2016. Along with the sexual harassment panic button, employees received wage increases, too.
Free Consultation
When you challenge inappropriate workplace behavior you are not just asserting your right to work in a workplace free of sexual harassment, but you are protecting others from harm. If you have experienced sexual harassment in any form in the workplace, you should contact a qualified employment attorney as soon as possible. If the harassment has not stopped after making a formal complaint with your employer, consulting a harassment lawyer is your best option. Your attorney will be able to provide further guidance. Also, he or she can help you file a claim with the EEOC. Then, build a case that will put an end to what you have experienced.