Fired Wynn Las Vegas Male Manicurist Files Gender Bias Lawsuit, Claims He Experienced Discrimination for Being a Man

Posted on: April 18, 2018, 04:55h. 

Last updated on: April 18, 2018, 04:56h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Vincent Fried, who previously worked as a Wynn Las Vegas manicurist, alleges in a court complaint filed this week that he was fired from the Strip resort last summer, simply for being a guy.

Wynn Las Vegas lawsuit manicurist
A male manicurist who lost his job at Wynn Las Vegas says his gender played a critical role in his employment termination. (Image: Daniel Clark/The Nevada Independent/Casino.org)

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Rio Lacanlale, who viewed the district court filing, Fried claims through his attorney that he was routinely subjected to gender bias while working as a manicurist.

The suit asserts that there was “a disparity in customer assignments,” and that he was “being treated unfairly” by his female supervisors.

He signals out his firing due to a July 4, 2017 incident involving underage guests being served alcoholic beverages.

Fried’s complaint states that he removed his customer’s drink after learning she was under the age of 21. She was later given another alcoholic beverage by another staff member. Yet Fried says it was he who was later suspended, and subsequently terminated.

Fried asserts the female manicurists who served their underage guests booze were not disciplined, nor were they fired. Wynn Resorts did not respond to the RJ’s request for comment.

Filing Lawsuits

The lawsuit comes as Wynn Resorts reels from the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding the company’s founder and former chairman. Numerous women have come forward with accusations against billionaire Steve Wynn that he assaulted and forced them into unwanted sex over a period spanning several decades.

The Wall Street Journal, which first broke the scandal, reported that Wynn made a $7.5 million payment to a married female manicurist after forcing her to have sex with him in 2005.

The majority of Steve Wynn’s alleged sexual misconduct, which he continues to deny despite resigning and selling his entire stake in the company, was rumored to have occurred inside his Las Vegas resorts’ spas and salons.

Gaming regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts, as well as in China’s Macau, are investigating whether Wynn Resorts remains qualified to hold casino licenses in the wake of the sexual allegations against its namesake.

Wynn’s ex-wife Elaine, who was a cofounder of the casino company in 2002, settled her long divorce feud with Steve this week.

Males Who Do Nails

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 126,000 manicurists and pedicurists in America. Employment opportunities are expected to grow over the next decade at 13 percent, with an additional 16,700 positions becoming available.

NAILS Magazine reports that men represent just three percent of the manicurist profession. Fried says he was subjected to discriminatory comments regarding his gender by coworkers.

In the complaint, he says a female supervisor told him he “might want to do something with cooking for work,” as he was in a “female … environment.”

While the national average of a basic manicure is $20.93, the “Classic Manicure” at Wynn Las Vegas’ Claude Baruk Salon goes for $50.

Nevada is home to 11,000 licensed nail technicians, ranking it 11th in the US. And with its amenity-heavy casino resorts, the Silver State has more “very large salons” (defined as 10+ technicians) than any other American state.