A third party will conduct two annual audits and will submit results to the AGO. The program will train MGM’s staff on wage and hour compliance. Supplementing that, the AGO will appoint a compliance reviewer that will make sure the MGM-owned property is following the program. In addition to paying the aforementioned $6.8 million settlement, MGM Springfield will be forced to implement a compliance program in order to avoid similar violations in the future. MGM Springfield Will Implement a Compliance Program In total, the violations impacted 2,036 workers, most of whom were service employees with hourly wages. Some said they were forced to work during their scheduled meal breaks. Employees claimed that their managers were tip-pooling and underpaying employees. The first complaints were filed to the AGO’s Fair Labor Division in October 2018, just two months after MGM Springfield opened. Other breaches included failure to pay its workers’ wages on time, as well as sick pay-related issues. In addition, the resort didn’t settle overtime wages and retained tips.
The AGO learned that MGM Springfield failed to pay minimum wage to tipped employees. As it turns out, the casino resort has been violating the state’s wage and hour laws for a long time. MGM Springfield has agreed to pay $6.8 million to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to settle recently discovered violations.
