A U.S. District Court recently approved a $5.5 million class action settlement for Missouri casino workers who alleged their paychecks were lowered because of unlawful employment practices.
The lawsuit claimed Penn National Gaming violated the Missouri Minimum Wage Law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act at its Argosy Riverside Casino and Hollywood Casinos in St. Louis by:
- Forcing defendants to deduct costs to obtain, maintain and renew state-issued gaming licenses from their wages;
- Requiring table games dealers to pool their tips and using that money to cover paid time off for non-tipped managers and supervisors; and
- Charging tobacco users higher wellness program charges but failing to fully reimburse those employees if they completed a smoking cessation program.
The defendants denied they had violated any laws and did not admit liability, but stated in court filings they preferred to avoid the risk, expense and inconvenience of further litigation.
The lawsuit initially was approved in January 2023 and Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri gave final approval for the settlement on May 25.
Bough approved payment of 35 percent of the settlement toward attorneys’ fees; unspent money will go as a cy pres award to two charitable organizations.
