A former William Hill employee is suing Caesars Entertainment for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a lawsuit filed by Joseph Pugliese revealed.
‘Constructive Discharge’
According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court of New Jersey, suffering from arthritis Pugliese had to quit his job as a cashier at William Hill Sportsbook at Oceanport in New Jersey after his employer refused to cater to his special needs, a decision that he believes constitutes “constructive discharge” under ADA.
Hired in October 2020 as a cashier and ticket writer at the casino sportsbook which Caesars Entertainment rebranded to Caesars Sportsbook following the $4 billion acquisition of the UK-based sports betting operator in April, Pugliese quit the job on January 6, 2021.
Pugliese was forced to leave his job after his health condition exacerbated and led to intolerable pain in the back. The sportsbook employee claimed to have tried to request his employer to cater to his special needs only to see his requests for accommodations fall “on deaf ears.”
Going into details at the court hearing, the former employee explained that his job required him to sit for extended periods in a chair, but as the one provided by the employer was not comfortable enough, the long periods of sitting exacerbated his health condition and caused him severe back pains.
Pugliese stated his former employers declined his demands to provide a more comfortable chair, claiming that in order to do so, they would have to spend several thousand dollars to make sure each one of the staff is given a new chair.
Reimbursement for Pay and Benefits
The former sportsbook cashier is seeking an order prohibiting discrimination and retaliation against any employees in the future and believes he is entitled to reimbursement for all pay and benefits he would have otherwise received.
Pugliese is the latest former employee of Caesars Entertainment to file a lawsuit against the company, following in the footsteps of Maggie Thomson, who sued Caesars and its employee retirement money manager Russell Investments for breaching their fiduciary responsibilities related to the company’s 401(k) program, actions which cost workers participating in the program more than $100 million.
In 2020, Caesars Entertainment was sued by Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 for not stopping immediately food and beverage operations at Harrah’s and MGM-owned Bellagio and MGM Grand after learning of employees testing positive of the coronavirus infection and failing to inform the rest of the staff.
