A cocktail server at Wynn Las Vegas was awarded $321,200 by a U.S. District Court jury after a five-day trial in which she said she was wrongfully fired for abusing the company’s Family and Medical Leave Act policies.

Wynn Resorts appeals award

The jury said Tiare Ramirez, Wynn’s founding cocktail server who was hired in November 2008 and terminated in November 2017, proved her claim that Wynn interfered with her FMLA rights when the company fired her.

The jury rejected the argument that Wynn also violated the plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act rights.

The $321,200 award was for lost wages and compensatory, emotional distress, monetary and punitive damages.

Ramirez filed a lawsuit against Wynn in 2019, and the case was concluded on October 25.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, Wynn said he would appeal the award.

“Wynn Las Vegas denies any wrongdoing and will file a motion to contest the award, which we believe will be significantly reduced in compliance with the law,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We are pleased that the court has indicated that it will postpone making a decision until our request is decided.”

Testimony given during the trial showed that Ramirez attended a gender reveal party with co-workers at City Square on March 21, 2017, before she was scheduled to work at Wynn Las Vegas that day. He called to say he couldn’t work that day and was using FMLA leave.

However, in party photos posted on Facebook, she was seen wearing high heels.

A Wynn employee initiated an investigation into plaintiff’s potential abuse of the FMLA on March 22, 2017. The investigation was postponed several times, and Ramirez submitted a note from a doctor stating he would need additional time until December 2017. He said he was experiencing a flare-up. -problems caused by ankle problems as a result of wearing high heels.

Wynn’s policy for cocktail servers is to wear high heels of at least 1¾ to 2 inches.

Ramirez had exhausted the leave time he was allowed through the FMLA policy and the collective bargaining agreement through his union in mid-September 2017.

However, after completing the investigation, Wynn fired Ramirez on November 2, 2017, citing “willful misconduct, dishonesty, and abuse of the FMLA-ADA” as the reason for the firing.

The jury foreman signed the FMLA interference claim on October 25 but not the ADA discrimination claim. The hearing was heard by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Gordon.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at [email protected] or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.