The Nevada Gaming Control Board has filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to dismiss a racial discrimination lawsuit brought in September by a former Control Board department head.
The Nevada Attorney General’s office, representing the Control Board, said a complaint brought by Jaime Black is baseless and asked the court to dismiss it.
“Despite the redundancy and voluminosity of her assertions, all of Black’s retaliation claims fail to state a plausible claim because the complaint does not adequately allege that she (Control Board Member Brittnie Watkins) engaged in any action that was protected conduct under Title VII (of the Civil Rights Act),” the motion to dismiss says.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects people from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin and applies to employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and training programs.
“Similarly, she fails to allege any facts that could plausibly support a claim for hostile work environment,” the motion filed Oct. 24 says.
Black, a Control Board employee since 2014 and appointed to head the Administration Division in June 2017, said in her lawsuit she was pressured by Watkins, who is Black, to engage in discriminatory hiring practices, then fostered a hostile work environment when she resisted.
Representatives of the Control Board had no further comment about the lawsuit or the response in the case being heard by Judge Miranda Du.
“The board is committed to equal opportunity in hiring and it has never engaged in any hiring practices other than those designed to select the most suitable and qualified candidate,” the motion says. “The allegations made by Black in the complaint are baseless.”
Black’s Reno attorney said he is reviewing the motion.
Black has since taken a job with the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.