By Abby Wargo
Law360 (July 24, 2023, 4:33 PM EDT) — A Wynn Las Vegas worker has sued the casino resort, alleging it forces its slot machine workers to pool their tips and share a portion of them with management in violation of federal and state labor laws.
Wynn Las Vegas LLC removed Sheila Little’s lawsuit to Nevada federal court Friday due to claims brought under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Little’s suit, which was originally filed in April, also lodged claims that the tipping policy constitutes conversion and unjust enrichment under Nevada state law.
Slot machine attendants like Little are paid hourly wages and also receive tips, which they are required to share a portion of with slot leads, or managers, according to the suit. Slot leads typically receive between 5% and 15% of the pooled tips, which go toward compensating management as well as covering general business expenses, Little said.
“Retaining tips by slot leads for general business purposes or to pay hourly wages of other employees or for the personal aggrandizement of management personnel does not constitute a valid tip sharing or pooling agreement under the Department of Labor’s regulations and federal and state law,” Little said in the complaint.
The unlawful tip confiscation results in Little and other slot workers receiving lower wages, Little said. She told the court the slot workers are entitled to receive the full amount of tips they’ve earned, as well as damages.
She is seeking to represent a collective of other slot workers who were subjected to the same tip pooling policy.
Christian J. Gabroy of Gabroy Messer, who is representing Little, said Wynn has a history of tip pooling violations in other departments and that managers’ wages are unnecessarily increased when they receive tips.
“This is the point of the FLSA: to protect tip-facing workers, and not to protect big business and fatten corporate pocket books at the expense of hourly workers,” Gabroy told Law360 on Monday.
Counsel for Wynn did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Little is represented by Christian J. Gabroy and Kaine Messer of Gabroy Messer and Mark R. Thierman, Joshua D. Buck, Leah L. Jones and Joshua R. Hendrickson of Thierman Buck LLP.
Wynn Las Vegas is represented by Michelle D. Alarie and Michael Freimann of Armstrong Teasdale LLP.
The case is Little v. Wynn Las Vegas LLC, case number 2:23-cv-01150, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
–Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1703064
