Monique Epperson v. Wynn Las Vegas

CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedFebruary 27, 2026
Docket2:25-cv-02169
StatusUnknown

This text of Monique Epperson v. Wynn Las Vegas (Monique Epperson v. Wynn Las Vegas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Monique Epperson v. Wynn Las Vegas, (D. Nev. 2026).

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3 * * *

4 MONIQUE EPPERSON, Case No. 2:25-cv-02169-APG-EJY

5 Plaintiff, ORDER 6 v.

7 WYNN LAS VEGAS,

8 Defendant.

9 10 Pending before the Court is Monique Epperson’s Application to Proceed in forma pauperis 11 (“IFP”) and Complaint for Employment Discrimination and Retaliation. ECF Nos. 2, 2-1. The IFP 12 application is complete and granted below. The Complaint is screened under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. 13 I. Screening Standard 14 When screening a complaint, a court must identify cognizable claims and dismiss claims that 15 are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or seek monetary relief 16 from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Dismissal for failure to 17 state a claim under § 1915(e)(2) incorporates the standard for failure to state a claim under Federal 18 Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012). To 19 survive § 1915 review, a complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state 20 a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The 21 court liberally construes pro se complaints and may only dismiss them “if it appears beyond doubt 22 that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” 23 Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678). 24 In considering whether the complaint is sufficient to state a claim, all allegations of material 25 fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Wyler Summit P’ship 26 v. Turner Broad. Sys. Inc., 135 F.3d 658, 661 (9th Cir. 1998) (citation omitted). Although the 27 standard under Rule 12(b)(6) does not require detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff must provide 1 A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action is insufficient. Id. Unless it is clear the 2 complaint’s deficiencies could not be cured through amendment, a pro se plaintiff should be given 3 leave to amend the complaint with notice regarding the complaint’s deficiencies. Cato v. United 4 States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995). 5 II. Plaintiff’s Complaint 6 Plaintiff’s Complaint is comprised of 110 paragraphs of background and facts in support of 7 seven causes of action. Rather than summarize all factual paragraphs, the Court discusses the facts 8 as applicable to each claim raised. 9 Exhausting administrative remedies by filing a timely charge with the EEOC or the 10 appropriate state agency (here, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission), naming the defendant, is a 11 statutory prerequisite for an employee to pursue litigation under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights 12 Act based on sex discrimination, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), and for 13 retaliation. Lyons v. England, 307 F.3d 1092, 1103 (9th Cir. 2002) (“a plaintiff is required to exhaust 14 his or her administrative remedies before seeking adjudication of a Title VII claim”); 42 U.S.C. § 15 12117(a). Plaintiff states she filed a charge with the EEOC and/or NERC “alleging sex, disability, 16 wage discrimination, and retaliation.” ECF No. 2-1 ¶ 108. Plaintiff further demonstrates she 17 received a Notice of Right to Sue letter dated July 23, 2025 and filed this action on November 4, 18 2025. ECF Nos. 2 at 1; 2-1 ¶ 109. Thus, Plaintiff’s Complaint appears facially timely. 19 a. Plaintiff’s Sex Discrimination Claim. 20 Plaintiff alleges she was discriminated against in the terms and conditions of her employment 21 because men were paid higher wages than she was, she was subjected to multiple suspensions, and 22 was ultimately terminated. ECF No. 2-1 ¶ 111. Efforts to support this claim appear in paragraphs 23 22, 29, 35, and 39 of the Complaint. Paragraph 22 vaguely alleges that at an unknown time a male 24 employee, in the same position performing the same duties, was compensated for being a tip 25 committee representative; paragraph 29 alleges “Plaintiff inform[ed] … Defendant of pay 26 discrepancy for Superbowl … February 11, 2023 on March 4, 2023”; paragraph 35 states “Plaintiff 27 … received less pay as her male coworker performing the same duties on Superbowl [Sunday], 1 February 11, 2024”; and, paragraph 39 contends “Plaintiff … received less compensation than the 2 other male coworker who performed the same duties on March 22 and March 23, 2024.” 3 What confuses the Court is that Plaintiff is an employee whose terms and conditions of 4 employment are governed by a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between the union and the 5 employer. See, for example, Id. ¶¶ 45, 51. Generally, Plaintiff’s wages would be set by the CBA. 6 See Jacobs v. Mandalay Corp, 2:08-cv-0640-RLH-LRL, 2008 WL 11384198, at *1 (D. Nev. Dec. 7 8, 2008) (“The terms of his employment are governed by a collective bargaining agreement between 8 Defendant and the Culinary Workers Union Local No. 226 and the Bartenders Union, Local No. 9 165”). Thus, the Court finds it implausible that Plaintiff’s wage was less than a male coworker’s 10 wage based on sex; rather, the difference in wages, if any, was undoubtedly based on seniority or 11 other neutral factors established under the CBA. 12 Nonetheless, to state a prima facie case of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII Plaintiff 13 must allege facts demonstrating: (a) she belongs to a protected class; (b) she was qualified for the 14 job for which she was hired; (c) she was subjected to an adverse employment action; and (d) similarly 15 situated employees not in her protected class received more favorable treatment. Shepard v. 16 Marathon Staffing, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. Lexis 76097, at *5 (D. Nev. June 2, 2014) (citing Moran v. 17 Selig, 447 F.3d 748, 753 (9th Cir. 2006)); 42 U.S.C. § 2000e–2(a) (establishing it unlawful “to fail 18 or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual 19 with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such 20 individual’s … sex …”). Facially, Plaintiff states this claim. Plaintiff avers on at least one occasion, 21 which appears to fall within 300 days of the date she likely filed a charge of discrimination,1 she 22 was paid less than a similarly situated male coworker for the same work and the difference was 23 because of her sex. Thus, Plaintiff’s sex discrimination claim may proceed. 24 25 26

1 See paragraph 39. “Before a plaintiff may file a Title VII … suit in federal court, she must first file a charge 27 with the EEOC. Additionally, Plaintiff’s charge must be filed with the EEOC within 300 days after the alleged unlawful 1 b. Plaintiff’s Failure to Accommodate Claim Under the ADA. 2 Plaintiff alleges she is a qualified individual with a disability who can perform the essential 3 functions of her job with a reasonable accommodation. ECF No. 2-1 ¶ 112. Plaintiff further says 4 Defendant failed to provide her with a reasonable accommodation. Id. ¶ 113.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Roch
5 F.3d 894 (Fifth Circuit, 1993)
Corning Glass Works v. Brennan
417 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Bazemore v. Friday
478 U.S. 385 (Supreme Court, 1986)
McLaughlin v. Richland Shoe Co.
486 U.S. 128 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Sanders v. City of Newport
657 F.3d 772 (Ninth Circuit, 2011)
Raymond Watison v. Mary Carter
668 F.3d 1108 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Moran v. Selig
447 F.3d 748 (Ninth Circuit, 2006)
Sands Regent v. Valgardson
777 P.2d 898 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1989)
Allum v. Valley Bank of Nevada
970 P.2d 1062 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1998)
IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez
546 U.S. 21 (Supreme Court, 2005)
Scott Nordstrom v. Charles Ryan
762 F.3d 903 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
O'Donnell v. Vencor Inc.
465 F.3d 1063 (Ninth Circuit, 2006)
Cohen v. Fred Meyer, Inc.
686 F.2d 793 (Ninth Circuit, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Monique Epperson v. Wynn Las Vegas, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/monique-epperson-v-wynn-las-vegas-nvd-2026.