Wynn Resorts settles lawsuit for inaction on Steve Wynn harassment claims by 9 female workers

Wynn Resorts and nine unnamed women have reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged the casino company failed to adequately investigate claims of sexual harassment by former CEO Steve Wynn.

The development was disclosed in a court document filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, the Associated Press reported. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The lawsuit was brought by female employees, including manicurists and makeup artists, who accused company officials of being aware of misconduct allegations but failing to take appropriate action before Steve Wynn resigned from his position in February 2018. Notably, Wynn was not named as a defendant in this case.

The settlement process will now proceed with U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro scheduling a court date for November 6th to formally dismiss the case. The move is expected to allow time for the issuance of the settlement fund.

The legal action originated in September 2019 in a Nevada state court before being moved to U.S. District Court in October that same year. It was initially dismissed in July 2020 by a federal judge in Las Vegas, citing issues such as the use of pseudonyms and the absence of specific individual harassment claims, AP points out.

However, in November 2021, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals revived the case, allowing the nine women to remain anonymous and amend their complaint to include individual harassment allegations.

Steve Wynn resigned from his corporate roles after allegations of sexual harassment were published by The Wall Street Journal, leading to his divestment of company shares, departure from the corporate board, and resignation as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

In July, Steve Wynn reached an agreement with the Nevada Gaming Commission to pay a $10 million fine and sever his ties with the casino industry in Las Vegas, where he had played a significant role in developing luxury properties such as the Golden Nugget, Mirage, and Bellagio. Additionally, he was involved in projects such as the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Wynn Macau in China.

Wynn Resorts, his former company, had previously paid a $20 million fine to the commission in February 2019 for its failure to investigate the sexual misconduct claims against him. Massachusetts gambling regulators also imposed a $35 million fine on Wynn Resorts and a $500,000 fine on the company's new chief executive, Matthew Maddox, for not disclosing the sexual misconduct allegations when applying for a license for the Encore Boston Harbor resort.

In November 2019, Wynn Resorts agreed to accept $20 million in damages from Steve Wynn and an additional $21 million from insurance carriers on behalf of current and former Wynn Resorts employees to settle shareholder lawsuits that accused company directors of failing to disclose the misconduct allegations.