A report released this week shows that Wynn Resorts essentially allowed Steve Wynn to sexually harass his female employees for decades.
The report was conducted by the Nevada Gaming Control Board after a Wall Street Journal investigation into Wynn’s behavior last year.
Alexandra Berzon was part of that initial reporting on Wynn. She said the report by the gaming control board did not investigate whether the allegations against Wynn were true but instead it focused on how the company responded to those allegations.
“They failed to go through the proper channels that the company had a policy in place of what was supposed to happen and in these cases it didn’t happen,” she said.
Berzon said some of the allegations in the report came from people quoted in their article but also from people with allegations they hadn't heard about. Most notably there were allegations from flight attendants who reported that Wynn harassed them.
Most of the executives named in the report have left the company either before the Wall Street Journal story or in the wake of the report.
“They did not address in the report anything about those individuals future licenses," Berzon said.
But she did point out that in Nevada a gaming license could be at risk if any kind of wrong-doing is found.
Since the first report, the board of directors ordered a company-wide investigation into sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. Berzon said that report has not been released and won't be released until all of the gaming regulators have finished their work. Massachusettes is still conducting its own investigation.
However, the company has made efforts to stop any future problems with improved training and more opportunities for women to be in management positions.
“They’re things that don’t actually address the issue of sexual harassment or misconduct by top level people specifically but would perhaps create a better work environment for women in general,” Berzon said.
Berzon did point out that Steve Wynn has denied all allegations against him.
Alexandra Berzon, reporter, Wall Street Journal