Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Employers pay $1M for religious, disability discrimination; subpoena enforcement action announced, (Jul 11, 2025)

By Jonathan Anderson

The subpoena stems from allegations that the employer failed or refused to recruit, hire, or promote non-Hispanic individuals because of their race and national origin.

Two employers in Nevada and California collectively paid $1,050,000 to resolve allegations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that the employers violated Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition to providing monetary relief to affected employees, the employers agreed to make changes to their policies, procedures, and training to avoid future discrimination. Separately, the EEOC also announced legal action to enforce a subpoena against a California employer as part of an investigation into claims of illegal hiring practices.

Religious discrimination and retaliation. The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, a hotel and casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip, will pay $850,000 and provide other relief to settle a Title VII religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The lawsuit alleged that the Venetian Resort refused to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of a class of employees, which included a diversity of faiths as outlined in the complaint. The suit further alleged that the Venetian retaliated against employees who opposed these acts of religious discrimination. In some cases, the denial of accommodations led to discipline, denial of promotion opportunities, and discharge or constructive discharge, according to the complaint.

In addition to monetary relief, a three-year consent decree settling the suit provides for training of all Venetian employees, managers, and supervisors on employee rights and employers’ obligations regarding religious accommodations under Title VII. The decree also requires that the Venetian retain a third-party, independent monitor to assist with review and revision of its religious accommodation policies and complaint procedures, and the tracking of the Venetian’s compliance for the 36 months it is under the consent decree. The hotel is owned and operated by Venetian Las Vegas Gaming, LLC and Venetian Las Vegas Marketing, Inc.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Nevada; the case is No. 2:25-cv-01148.

Disability discrimination. Everport Terminal Services (ETS) entered into a $200,000 conciliation agreement with the EEOC, which had alleged the employer failed to provide a reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability in violation of the ADA. ETS operates a terminal at the Port of Oakland, California. When the worker, a “steady” longshoreman mechanic, showed up to work in person to accept a light duty position, his supervisor denied there was available work suitable for the worker’s restrictions and sent him home, according to the EEOC. Following an investigation, the parties engaged in the pre-litigation conciliation process, resulting in a settlement requiring ETS to provide back pay and compensatory damages; revise its non-discrimination policies and procedures; conduct training for all California employees, managers, and human resources personnel; post a notice concerning equal employment opportunity rights in English and Spanish; track all accommodation requests; and report to the agency for two years.

Subpoena enforcement. The EEOC said it is seeking to enforce a subpoena issued during an investigation into claims of illegal hiring practices by Vallarta Food Enterprises, Inc. and related companies, dba Vallarta Supermarkets, in Central and Southern California. Vallarta Supermarkets is a supermarket chain with approximately 80 locations throughout Central and Southern California, and a corporate office located in Sylmar, California. The related companies in this case are Gonzalez Food Enterprises, Inc., Daniel Food Enterprises, Inc., Jalos Food Enterprises, Inc., Joya Food Enterprises, Inc., Santa Isabel Enterprises, Inc., and Zixta Enterprises, Inc.

The EEOC’s charges allege that the company has failed or refused to recruit, hire, or promote non-Hispanic individuals because of their race (white, black, and/or Asian) and national origin (non-Hispanic). Such hiring practices may be illegal under Title VII. As part of its investigation, the federal agency issued a subpoena requesting information including applicant and employee data, screening questions used during the hiring process, job descriptions, race and national origin complaints, and any demographic data obtained for either applicants or employees and contact information.

The EEOC filed the action in the Central District of California; the case is No. 2:25-mc-00058.

Companies: Venetian Resort Las Vegas; Venetian Las Vegas Gaming, LLC; Venetian Las Vegas Marketing, Inc.; Everport Terminal Services; Vallarta Supermarkets; Vallarta Food Enterprises, Inc.; Gonzalez Food Enterprises, Inc.; Daniel Food Enterprises, Inc.; Jalos Food Enterprises, Inc.; Joya Food Enterprises, Inc.; Santa Isabel Enterprises, Inc.; Zixta Enterprises, Inc.

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