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• San Diego County Public Health officials said Wednesday they are working with tribal lands to investigate positive COVID-19 cases that may be connected to several local casinos.
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A Harrah's Resort Southern California executive who resigned before the casino reopened in May has filed a lawsuit against the parent company, Caesars Enterprise Services, alleging the tribal casino rushed to reopen despite safety concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Darrell Pilant, who had served as the senior vice president and general manager, worked for the company for 23 years. He alleges that he was forced to resign from his position because he said he didn't want to follow the direction of his employer to reopen because doing so posed a threat to employee and customer health, according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 31.

The lawsuit, which declares it is a whistleblower action, claims that in reopening during the pandemic, the casino violated the California Labor Code and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations for the health and safety of employees.

'Pilant, among other things, alleges that Caesars constructively terminated his employment because he opposed and refused to carry out Caesars' directive to reopen Harrah's Resort Southern California,' the lawsuit states. 'Rather than carry out the illegal and dangerous directive of his employer, Mr. Pilant had no alternative but to resign his long-time employment with Caesars.'

In an email Tuesday, Pilant's attorney, Anthony F. Pantoni, said 'we stand by the allegations made in the complaint on file in this lawsuit' and declined to comment further.

Harrah's Resort Southern California is operated by Caesars Enterprise Services, but is owned by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and located on its 5,000-acre reservation in North County. Tribal Chairman Bo Mazzetti said profits from the casino make up about 85 percent of the tribe's budget during an interview in April.

After closing mid-March in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the casino reopened with a limited capacity on May 22. Prior to its reopening, the casino released details of its new sanitation and health protocols, which included a requirement for guests to wear facial coverings and have their temperature checked before entering the building.

In a Rincon tribal newsletter published after its reopening, Mazzetti wrote that 'someone had to take charge and do something for Indian tribes and reservations' because 'no direction was given by the Governor's Office during the shelter in place and business closure executive orders pertaining to the needs of tribal government operations, tribal membership and impacts on tribal businesses.'

Rincon Director of Communications Tanya Duggan said via email that the tribe doesn't comment on active litigation or personnel matters. A Caesars Entertainment spokesperson also said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

In May, after local casinos announced plans to reopen, Gov. Newsom wrote a letter to tribal leaders asking them to reconsider their timelines based on conditions in the surrounding communities. In the letter, he acknowledged the rights tribes have as sovereign nations and noted the financial impact the closures had taken on them, but stressed that casinos were high-risk businesses because of the amount of employees and guests who visit them.

California Gaming Association President Kyle Kirkland said via email that by tribal casinos continuing to be open during the stay-at-home order, they could become 'super spreader hotspots.'

The association represents cardrooms — which are not allowed on tribal lands — throughout the state, many of which remain closed under California's stay-at-home order. Cardrooms were forced to suspend indoor operations on July 1, Gov. Newsom said during his press conference that day, but some have since reopened outdoors.

“The disregard for public health and safety outlined in this lawsuit is consistent with the arrogance we’ve grown to expect from many tribal casino operators in California,' Kirkland said. 'By remaining open while other indoor recreational facilities have been forced to close, they have demonstrated a lack of concern for the health of their employees, guests and the surrounding communities in the pursuit of slot machine profits.'

As of Sept. 4, there have been 217 people — including 76 employees and 141 guests — who have tested positive for COVID-19 and either visited or worked at one of seven different casinos during the two weeks before symptom onset. There have also been 12 hospitalizations of people connected to the casinos, and one guest has reportedly died, county Communications Officer Sarah Sweeney said via email.

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'It is important to note that just because a person was at a casino in the potential exposure period does not mean that they contracted the virus at this location,' Sweeney said. 'Our program has not made any definitive connection between any casino employee and a patron.'

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Morgan Cook contributed to this report.