Employees of any business, including a casino, expect to earn a certain hourly wage or salary based on their position. During the interviewing process, the individual should be alerted to the pay amount or at least by the time they are hired. Payment details are an important part of any job process. One employee of the MGM Springfield is claiming that all details were not provided upon hiring and the is paid below minimum wage for his dealer position, plus tips.
MGM Springfield is a top performing casino in the state of Massachusetts. The venue recently came under fire after a lawsuit was filed by a dealer of the casino. Shawn Connors claims that MGM did not paid him minimum wage on a consistent basis. He started working at the venue when it opened in August of last year and feels he is due compensation from the operator.
Under Minimum Wage Payments
In his lawsuit, Connors states that he is entitled to more than what his employer is providing. He is reportedly being paid $5 an hour plus tips. It is common for employers to pay lower wages if tips are also received. However, based on federal law in the US, employers must tell their employees that they will be receiving less than minimum wage due to the tip factor.
In the lawsuit filed by Connors, it does not state if he would have taken the dealer job, if he had been told the pay structure details. The filing does not include how much Connors earns in tips either. Even though he is protesting the base pay number, Connors is still working at the casino in Springfield.
Benjamin Knox Steffans is the attorney for Connors who stated that like all employees, his client expects that payment would be consistent with federal wage and hour laws.
Class Action
With the filing, the attorney for Connors has requested that it be treated like a class action lawsuit in the courts. The attorney argued that a minimum of 100 other employees of the casino are paid in the same or similar way to Connors. In the lawsuit, MGM has been accused of underpaying those who receive tips or have overtime hours.
Connors is also claiming that the casino is deducting employee licensing fees from staff wagers in an improper manner.
In his lawsuit, Connors does not list a specific amount of damages, but the filing states that the damages should include the difference between his and other employees’ actual pay and what they should receive based on federal law. The filing is also seeking interest and for MGM to pay attorneys fees and associated costs.
MGM Springfield has yet to respond to the lawsuit filing. A spokesperson did release a statement in which the operator says they received the filing and will be investigating it and responding accordingly.
We can imagine that MGM Resorts will formulate a plan and announce their intention within the coming weeks after reviewing their options and the lawsuit.
