Tomo Stephens is suing the Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas because she says she had to quit her job this summer due to health problems from exposure to cigarettes smoke. Stephens was previously working as a blackjack dealer at Caesars.

Stephens’s lawyers are trying for class-action status in the case, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The suit alleges that Caesars Palace does not do enough to protect their workers from the effects of secondhand smoke.

A lawyer from Chicago, Jay Edelson, commented that the suit does not want casinos to ban smoking. It simply asks for an area for the workers to not be exposed by the harmful smoke. The lawsuit also states that a health study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that that casino employee urine samples contained unhealthy chemicals found in secondhand smoke.

It will be interesting to see where this case will go. Hopefully both the workers and casinos will be able to find a happy medium where all will be comfortable and happy.






- 2009-07-27