Lawsuit: Two Casino Operators Illegally Withhold Dealers’ Pooled Tips

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

PNGI Charles Town Gaming, LLC, which runs the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, and Penn National Gaming, Inc. are the defendants in a proposed class and collective action filed by an employee who claims the casino operators subject dealers to an illegal tip pooling policy. Filed in West Virginia, the lawsuit claims the defendants require employees to enter into written contracts that mandate any and all tips and gratuities they earn be contributed to a “common pool” for distribution among dealers, with the money then spread among the workers based on number of hours worked each day. According to the plaintiff, however, on days when this common pool generates higher hourly wages for dealers, the defendants, at their discretion and without providing notice, “remove some portion of the funds from the tip pool to finance payment of future paid time off,” which the complaint says dealers may or may not even receive. The plaintiff argues this tip pooling policy violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as the defendants supposedly use employee tips for a reason that is not permitted under the law.