State mulls harassment plan order

A comprehensive written plan to prevent sexual harassment may soon be required of Nevada’s gaming licensees.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board will conduct a public regulation workshop Thursday at 1:30 p.m. to consider a 2½-page amendment to Regulation 5. The regulation encompasses the rules that spell out operations in gaming establishments and disciplinary actions that can be taken against licensees, including license suspensions, revocations and fines.

The amendment would take effect upon passage by the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission. It’s unclear how long it would

HARASSMENT

be before commissioners take up final adoption of the amendment since more workshop meetings could be scheduled.

The proposal was spurred by the sexual harassment scandal that has rocked Wynn Resorts Ltd. and led to the resignation of its chairman and CEO, Steve Wynn, in February.

Wynn has denied accusations that he sexually harassed or assaulted employees over the course of several decades, even after stepping down from his corporate role and selling all his shares of company stock.

New Wynn CEO Matt Maddox has focused efforts to separate Steve Wynn from the company as industry regulators in two states and Macau investigate sexual harassment allegations reported in several publications since late January.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has indicated that it will complete its investigation of Wynn sometime in the summer, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board expects the conclusion of its investigation by fall.

Wynn’s board of directors is also investigating independently of the regulators.

Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Becky Harris said the drafting of the amendment was a team effort by her, board members Shawn Reid and Terry Johnson, Gaming Control Board staffers and representatives of the state attorney general’s office.

“We sent out an industry notice a month-and-a-half ago to licensees that we were looking into sexual harassment and sent forth guidelines for what’s now being called an amendment to Reg 5 to licensees in anticipation of having some workshops,” Harris said in a telephone interview.

Harris said Thursday’s workshop

meeting will be the first opportunity for all three board members to discuss it because of requirements of open meeting law. Industry representatives and the public will also have an opportunity to comment on the proposed measure before adoption.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.