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Resort pay
policy attacked
By David Strow, LAS
VEGAS SUN
Subsidizing
floor(person) pay with toke money?
The newly
opened Resort at Summerlin faces a potential legal challenge over
how pays its casino employees. In a letter sent to Seven
Circle Resorts Inc. Chief Executive Brian McMullan, the Nevada
Casino Dealers Association accused the Resort of violating state
law "by subsidizing floor(person) pay with toke money."
The Resort makes the policy a condition of employment, the letter
said. The association demanded that the Resort immediately
stop the practice.
"It is evident to any reasonable person that by
offering these employees a share of dealer's tips as part of their
compensation you were able to hire them at a much lower wage than
would otherwise be possible," said the letter, signed by
association President Tony Badillo and Vice President Jack
Lipsman. "Any action which might compromise an operator's
gaming license would hurt everyone involved and should be avoided
at all costs."
The Resort responded that it does not have a separate
designation for floorpeople and dealers. Rather, the Resort hires
"casino hosts," who move up in pay as they learn new
games and skills. Employees who gain experience at a particular
game are asked to supervise table games during some shifts, and
deal during others. Jim Fonseca, senior vice president and chief
operating officer of the Resort, said the company will not halt
that policy. "The rationale is, once you join the company,
you have a clear career path ahead of you," Fonseca said.
"You know what skills you need to progress."
"...it
looks like they're trying to start something new"
The association
says floorpeople at the Resort are paid a base wage of $80 per
day, less than half the normal pay for the position. It alleges
that floorpeople at the Resort receive a share of the dealer toke,
or tip, pool as compensation, and that this practice enables the
Resort to offer a far lower pay scale than other casinos. "To
me, it looks like they're trying to start something new,"
Badillo said. "They're trying to cut the payroll, and the
first thing they looked into was dealer tips." In a
response letter issued to the association, Fonseca said
"casino hosts" start at $7.75 per hour, or $62 per
eight-hour shift, before tips. A staff member who completes all of
the "skill blocks" receives $11.50 per hour, or $92 per
day. By comparison, the average hourly rate for Strip dealers was
$5.59, he said. "It should be noted that no staff
member of The Resort at Summerlin has raised your concern,"
Fonseca said.
The association, a nonunion entity, claims 4,600 members in
Nevada.
Resort employees do not have union representation.
"Management can't be involved in pool tipping at all"
Gail Maxwell, acting state labor commissioner, said the
association's allegations, if accurate, would violate state law,
and would trigger a Labor Commission investigation.
"Management can't be involved in pool tipping at all,"
Maxwell said. "If (employees) wanted to include
(management), that's an agreement between tip earners only."
But Fonseca said the company has already consulted with its
attorneys and feels it is
in compliance with labor laws because its casino hosts are not
considered management, even if they oversee games as part of their
duties.
"You assume that we are paying certain individuals less and
that therefore the Resort at Summerlin receives a benefit,"
Fonseca's letter said. "We have been advised by our Nevada
legal counsel that in order for us to be deemed to receive a legal
benefit from dealers' tips, we would have to keep some of the
money in our tip pool for ourselves. One hundred percent of all
tips received are disbursed to the staff members in the tip
pool."
Still, the association is threatening to lodge a formal
complaint with the Labor
Commission if the practice doesn't end. "This is a
policy that looks like it could spread around, and we don't want
that to happen," Lipsman said.
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