Businesses: Ignore Bravo Pro lawsuit at your own risk

The decision by attorney Matthew Callister to file a class-action lawsuit this week against the Bravo Pro Maintenance janitorial service and some of its high-end clients might not sound terribly compelling on first blush.

But it has the potential to rock the local business community – and that includes the casino crowd.

Bravo is accused of employing immigrant labor as janitors at restaurants at the Venetian, Hard Rock, and elsewhere. These allegedly exploited employees were paid less than minimum wage while their employer pocketed the difference from select businesses located inside mega-resorts.

Frankly, it’s the kind of story that shouts for a friend-of-the-court brief from lawyers representing labor organizations.

It also raises questions that the Gaming Control Board, fresh off taking an active interest in the shenanigans and criminal activity at some casino resort nightclubs, will need to answer. For starters: Did resort management, once again, turn a blind eye to employee exploitation by using the excuse that the restaurants in question were just leasing space?

Callister plans to hold a press conference on this issue Thursday at the Office of the Mexican Consulate. That’s right. The Mexican Consulate.

If those resort officials are wise, they’ll take this one seriously. The story of exploitation in the land of plenty could easily reverberate throughout the nation.