Las Vegas casino workers will receive panic buttons to call for help when they experience sexual harassment
Employees at two of the largest casinos in Las Vegas who are most vulnerable to sexual harassment, including housekeepers and cocktail servers, will soon carry a car remote-sized panic button on their body to report any abuse they experience on the job.
The panic button, when pressed, will alert managers to the name and location of the employee who is in trouble.
MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment have agreed in contract negotiations with unions to provide the panic buttons to members.
“We are here to do our jobs and provide incredible, world-class customer service for our guests,” Maria Landeros, a housekeeper at the MGM Grand, told the Culinary Union. “We are not here to be abused or have people think that just because it’s Las Vegas, anything goes.”
According to a survey in May of over 10,000 casino workers, 59 percent of Las Vegas cocktail servers and 27 percent of hotel housekeepers said they have been sexually harassed by guests, managers, and others while working, and about 72 percent of cocktail servers and 53 percent of housekeepers said guests have done something to make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
The contract negotiations for the panic button stemmed from the #MeToo movement, as well as news that Steve Wynn, a casino titan with locations in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City, had allegedly harassed and sexually assaulted female workers at his casino.
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