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Official rules Wynn tip policy not a violation of state law
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A controversial tip-pooling program instituted by Wynn Resorts Ltd. nearly four years ago does not violate Nevada law, state Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek wrote in a ruling released Monday.
The opinion dismissed claims filed by several Wynn Las Vegas dealers, who sued the resort soon after a tip-pooling program was enacted in August 2006.
Under the policy, table games supervisors were added into the tip pool to share in the tokes earned by dealers. The supervisors were given new positions and titles and higher compensation levels.
"Based on substantial evidence in this case, the Wynn did not retain the tips for its own use nor did it reap a direct benefit due to the increased compensation the (table games supervisors) receive from the tip distribution," Tanchek wrote in the opinion.
The labor commissioner held public hearings on the Wynn tip-pooling program between July and October last year. The 18-page decision came after months of deliberation. The policy, first enacted at Wynn Las Vegas, was also instituted at Encore, which opened in December 2008.
"While the Wynn did not necessarily keep the tips themselves, the dealers allege that they did use the tips to generate income to their exclusion," Tanchek wrote. "The dealers argued that this constituted a taking of their tips. The dealers did not present any direct testimony on this issue, but relied on the testimony of two Wynn employees whose testimony was contradictory and inconclusive."
In protest to the new tip-pooling program, dealers voted to unionize through the New York-based Transport Workers Union of America in 2008. A collective bargaining agreement, however, has yet to be reached.
Jay Litman, a California-based attorney for the Wynn dealers, said the ruling would be appealed to a Clark County District Court judge.
He said Tanchek didn't address several issues in his ruling, including a claim that Wynn Resorts violated Nevada gaming regulations when it instituted the tip-pooling policy. Litman said the job changes for the supervisors would not allow them to issue markers or gambling incentives to customers.
"Obviously, we're disappointed by the ruling, but now we'll be able to address these issues on appeal to the District Court," Litman said. "Some of our arguments were not addressed in the ruling."
A Clark County District Court judge dismissed the lawsuits in 2007 and the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the decision a year later. Litman said the dismissals were on procedural rules because the employees needed to bring their objections first to the Nevada labor commissioner.
After Wynn instituted the tip-pooling program, more than 100 dealers filed anonymous complaints with the labor commissioner over the policy. But Tanchek said he couldn't make a formal ruling because names were not associated with the complaints.
A group of Wynn dealers, led by Daniel Baldonado and Joseph Cesarz, filed a class action lawsuit against Wynn Resorts over the tip-pooling policy. Another dealer, Meghan Smith, filed an individual claim with the labor commissioner.
The cases were consolidated after the Supreme Court upheld the decision to dismiss the class action lawsuit.
No other gaming companies have adopted a tip-pooling policy similar to Wynn's although Harrah's Entertainment recently notified dealers at Caesars Palace that the company reserves the right to split dealers' tips with supervisors at the resort.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
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Hey Mr. Wynn...how much did you pay off Tanchek?? Sad, sad...you are one the the reasons that Vegas is dying...
Can't wait to here you haters squel when YOUR employer exploits you, and you know it comming. Wynn is evil, he'll fit right in, in China. We should force those who have no loyalty or patriotism to our country or it citizens to sell their assets and get the hell out!
If they are so upset then quit. Half the dealers in town would love to go work at Wynn and double their income. Without Steve Wynn this town would look like Atlantic City. His vison has not only built some of the most beautiful resorts in the world but it has also forced his competitors to spend to keep up. I think he knows a little more about what it takes to build a great hotel than the idiots that post here. The good guys won for a change. It's a good day.
I would love to meet the person who came up with this tip sharing idea in the first place. My guess is that he/she was hailed as a hero, saving the company $X in salaries. And now that the courts have blessed this practice watch other casinos adopt the practice. We as patron need to follow wall street's lead and find other more creative ways to tip the dealers, how about stock options? or maybe tokens from another casino that the delaer can go cash in at the end of the shift. I mean this ruling applies to 'cash' tips, yes ?
@steven.alexander-
Way to throw the baby put with the bathwater. True, it's jerks like Wynn who give capitalism a bad name, but its still the same system that has created the standard of living we have in the U.S. For everyone like Wynn, there are plenty of companies who engage in no such chicanery.
And to the person who says the dealers should get on their knees and thank him everyday for employment,its people like you that these hotels love to employ. People who have no spine,and no voice for the wrongs that mgt. cram down the employees throat.You expect them to accept this just b/c they should be happy to have a job?Sounds like your a bitter person,who is either out of work, and is jealous they have a job,or someone who has a gambling problem who routinely stiffs the dealers b/c u think they make too much money already. Get a life!
Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the attorney representing the Wynn, the son of supreme court justice Anthony Scalia, who just happened to previously head the National Labor Comm. in D.C.? Coincidence?
Well put @steven.alexander...Steve Wynn does not care about the people of Las Vegas now that his big cash cow is in Macau. I wish him the best in Communist China since he openly told a reporter that he prefers that country's government over the United States. See ya Steve!
Wynn is only doing what the capitalist system REQUIRES; screwing the people who work for him. Obviously the ONLY way for large corporations to "compete" in the marketplace is to CUT the amount of money that they have to pay THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DO THE WORK. We all know by now that this is why the largest companies in the world are going places where slave labor is still permitted, and taking what were formerly "good" paying jobs with them. Wynn is no different as he has now practically moved his operations to China, taking all the money earned off the backs of his workers in this country with him. If the guy had ANY sense (and let me say that I put Steve in the top 3 all time Las Vegas great visionaries), he would understand by now that when you pay your employees less, THEY HAVE LESS MONEY TO RETURN TO YOU. This is PRECISELY what is happening across this country; companies pay their employees less, the employee spends less, the companies earn less, and begin to look for ways to cut. The first place most short sighted businesses look (which again by nature ALL capitalist business are short sighted) is to CUT PAYROLL. Thus further reducing the number of customers who will be buying their stuff until at last they reach the bottom. Henry Ford did pay his workers the OUTRAGEOUS salary of $5 a day to build his cars because he was such a great guy; he KNEW that the only way people could actually afford to buy his cars was to create workers that HAD THE MONEY. Bye bye Steve, don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Wynn makes millions of dollars stealing from his customers (gambling). Then he steals money from his employees to pay his other employees. What an model businessman he is. He must be proud of himself.