A former Caesars Palace employee is suing the casino, alleging that his ethnicity was the determining factor for his dismissal.
Felton Davis, an African-American, was employed at the Caesars Palace hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for 13 years, from May 2012 to October 2025.
Caesars suspended and then terminated his employment last year over allegations that he was taking “unlimited breaks.”
Other Staff Members Spared Disciplinary Action
According to the lawsuit, Davis denies these accusations. It adds that even if Davis were taking breaks, his fellow employees were as well.
“Davis’s coworkers, Melissa Mara and Jason Lee, engaged in the same or similar overtime practices but were not suspended, disciplined, or terminated,” states the complaint.
However, it also states that his suspension was related to “a shift where his co-worker Melissa Mara left early and Davis stayed to clean up and restock his mobile bar.”
HR Refuses to Show Camera Footage
At a disciplinary hearing, Human Resources representative Anna Gutierrez said she had witnessed Davis taking the unsolicited breaks.
When Davis asked to see the camera footage, she refused to show it to him. This, the lawsuit claims, is proof that the reason for his dismissal was fabricated and it was actually due to his race.
In addition to having a different ethnicity, Davis was also the most senior of the three employees, but this is not cited as a determining factor in his dismissal.
Instead, it states, “There was no legitimate business reason to terminate Davis while retaining less senior employees who engaged in the same conduct.”
“Caesars intentionally discriminated against Davis on the basis of his race by terminating his employment while retaining similarly situated non-African American employees who engaged in the same conduct,” says the complaint.
Another Casino Employee Alleges Racial Discrimination
A similar lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania in February. In that case, however, the employee claimed he was “repeatedly demeaned for being white.”
Like Davis, the employee claimed that Mount Airy Casino generated false accusations to engineer his dismissal. Both employees have since found new employment.
However, Davis is seeking damages from Caesars, as his new role as a security worker at Allegiant
Stadium “does not provide the same level of compensation or benefits he received at Caesars.”
In addition to the financial blow of losing his job, he claims that his dismissal has caused “emotional distress, mental anguish, and physical manifestations thereof, including migraine headaches.”
