HARRISBURG — A female Hollywood Casino Final Cut bartender is suing Penn National Gaming Inc., citing alleged gender discrimination and retaliation.
Karen Rose filed a complaint on Jan. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Penn National Gaming Inc., alleging the casino violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating and retaliating against the plaintiff.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2017 she observed inappropriate behavior and gender discrimination conduct exhibited by her manager. She tried to discuss these directly with the manager, but that only resulted in the manager writing her up on two occasions, the suit claims.
She then made a good faith report to the food and beverage director, but that resulted in the manager retaliating against her with two more unfounded write-ups, she claims. In or about May, Rose made yet another good faith report to human resources, she says. After an investigation in which she was advised that there was no validation for her concerns, she was terminated on July 13, 2018, the suit says.
The plaintiff holds Penn National Gaming Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly "created, permitted, tolerated, encouraged and fostered an environment of discrimination based upon gender, in which male employees were favored over female employees, at the Final Cut where Mrs. Rose worked, which discriminatory environment was ongoing and pervasive during Mrs. Rose’s employment," the suit says.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks back pay and front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs and other further relief the court finds just and proper, which total amount exceeds the jurisdictional limits for mandatory arbitration referral. She is represented by Larry Weisberg and Derrek Cummings of Weisberg Cummings PC in Harrisburg.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Case No. is 1:19-cv-00009-CCC.