Wynn Resorts cuts ties to salon manager after founder’s exit

Wynn Resorts Ltd. cut ties this month to Claude Baruk, the celebrity hair stylist whose salons in Las Vegas figure in the Steve Wynn sexual-harassment allegations.

The salons at the company’s two Las Vegas casinos will no longer be branded with Baruk’s name, spokesman Michael Weaver said in an email. He declined to comment further.

Baruk, a French-born stylist and colorist, operated the salons at the resorts since 2013. In February, he won the Celebrity Hairstylist of the Year honor at the Hollywood Beauty Awards. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

Wynn Resorts’ founder stepped down in February amid sexual misconduct allegations. Since then, the casino company has shaken up its operations. It’s added three new female board members, said goodbye to four male directors, and held its first women’s leadership forum to support diversity and gender equality in the workplace.

Investigations, both internal and external, into the Steve Wynn allegations continue. Board member Pat Mulroy said at the company’s annual meeting this month that 114 people had been interviewed and more than 3 million pages of documents examined. Regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts also are investigating.

Baruk was named in a lawsuit in March by an unidentified woman who said she worked as a manicurist at the salon. Steve Wynn would often come in and try to position himself so that she would touch his genitals, she said. The woman said she complained to her supervisor, Wynn management and Baruk, who she said ignored her. Christopher Palmeri, Bloomberg

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