Thursday would be an important one for the gambling field of Atlantic City, as a previously proposed regulation striving to introduce a wider variety of workers to the gambling industry is going to be subjected to voting. The bill proposed this spring by Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, and Jeff Van Drew, D-Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland aims to make amendments to the existing regulations affecting convicted individuals.
This spring brought a revolutionary turn of events which indicated a major shift in the way lawmakers perceive gaming field employees. Inclusion and believing in people’s ability to change for the better lays in the foundation of this proposed bill, striving to ultimately improve the field.
If the said bill receives the approval of lawmakers, people who have been convicted on drug possession and similar offenses would have the chance to enter the gaming field and be eligible to a job position at some of the premium casino resorts across the state.
Proposed Bill Moves Forward
There is one condition to this – people would be obliged to complete the Recovery Court program before regaining their right to join the work force of a casino developer. It should be taken into account that according to the current state of the regulations across the state, convicts with a history of drug offenses are banned from obtaining licensing as casino employees. Now lawmakers are willing to give a second chance to such individuals and welcome them to casino venues.
In addition to the right to receive such a license, casino key employees who have completed the program would also acquire protection against license revoking on a later date. This could be done by the Casino Control Commission as a result of a situation questioning the level of professionalism of a given casino key employee. Positions such as pit boss, gaming floor supervisor, director of security, managers of hotel operations, entertainment, human resources demand licensing.
Mr. Brown stated that this decision, if it receives approval would result in a much friendlier casino field, ready to accept people mending their ways. Such individuals would be guaranteed the equal and fair chance to apply for a job position at a gambling facility when work fairs are being conducted and potentially reserve them a spot among the workers. At the moment, there are some 6,500 people utilizing the Recovery Court’s potential and for the most part, they end up fully recovering.
Integrating Convicted Residents Projected to Be a Success
It could be recalled, that earlier this year in an attempt to repair the negative stamp of disapproval on the Drug Court, the authorities decided to change its name to Recovery Court. This was done in an attempt to give the program a more positive image and lift the stigma placed on it. Following the renaming, the program teamed up with Unite Here Local 54, Atlantic City’s union striving to protect integrated resorts employees’ rights throughout the field.
As a result of this partnership, participants in the Recovery Court received the opportunity to apply for a job position at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino which launched operation this summer. This week is finally set to see the official voting on the proposed S 2330 bill, bringing innovation to the sector.
Going further in the inclusion quest, last week saw Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement of a job-training focusing on integrating underemployed individuals or such living in poverty into the hospitality industry. As a result of the partnership between Unite Here Local 54 and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, as many as 5,000 job positions would be occupied by people fully trained for them. The Recovery Court would also participate in the program.
