MGM Springfield will pay more than $6.8 million in restitution and penalties for wage and hour law violations at its downtown casino.
The settlement comes after a multi-year investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, which said Wednesday that MGM failed to pay overtime, earned sick time and minimum wage to tipped employees. The AG's office also said MGM unlawfully retained tips, among other violations.
"MGM Springfield’s failure to provide its employees, especially service workers earning an hourly wage and relying on tips, with their full wages and benefits made it more difficult for these employees to take care of themselves and their families,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement.
More than 2,000 employees were impacted, the AG's office said, from table game dealers to kitchen staff.
About $460,000 of the settlement will go back to employees as restitution, but the bulk of the payout — nearly $6.4 million — goes to the state as a fine. MGM has 30 days to pay.
The office began investigating after receiving complaints from MGM staff in October 2018 — two months after the casino's opening. The settlement covers violations between August 2018 and the end of 2019.
MGM "neither admits nor denies the allegations" in the settlement agreement.
“We take our compliance obligations seriously and have made proactive updates since 2019 to address this issue," MGM Resorts spokesperson Dara Cohen said in a brief statement. "We will continue to invest in training and regular reviews of our policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance.”
MGM has agreed to hire an “Independent Compliance Reviewer" to audit the company's compliance with wage laws and report back to state officials, according the settlement.
