Current:Home > MyJudge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Judge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers
View Date:2024-12-23 17:07:45
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A judge on Friday allowed smoking to continue in Atlantic City’s casinos, giving some measure of relief to the city’s struggling casino industry while rebuffing workers who have long sought to be able to breathe clean air on the casino floor.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels represented a major victory for the city’s nine casinos, most of which are winning less money from in-person gamblers than they did before the COVID19 pandemic hit.
But it was a big a setback for workers who have been trying for four years to ban smoking in their workplaces, first by trying to get lawmakers to change the law, then by filing a lawsuit. A lawyer for the workers said she will ask the state Supreme Court to consider the case on an expedited basis.
The casinos had warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned.
“We are gratified by the court’s decision to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and deny its attempt to change the Smoke-Free Air Act outside of the legislative process,” said Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and of the Casino Association of New Jersey.
He said the industry, the city and the main casino workers union, Local 54 of Unite Here “have taken significant steps over the years to create a healthier environment for employees and patrons, including limiting smoking to just a fraction of the floorspace.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders towards a solution that addresses the health concerns of our employees, while also protecting the collective interest and well-being of the entire Atlantic City workforce,” Giannantonio said.
Anti-smoking workers vowed to continue pushing for smoke-free casinos.
“This fight is far from over,” said Lamont White, a Borgata dealer and a leader of the anti-smoking movement. “While today’s outcome is disappointing, our determination remains unshaken.”
White said the ruling gives legislators “even more reason to uphold their responsibility to finally do the right thing and pass the bipartisan legislation that New Jerseyans overwhelmingly support,” he said. “It’s time to make things right for the thousands of us workers still working and living without the same protection afforded to every other New Jerseyan.”
Nancy Erika Smith, who argued the case on behalf of the workers, decried the ruling and promised to appeal it.
“While the rest of the nation moves away from poisoning workers for profits, New Jersey shames itself,” she said in a written statement. “As long as the Governor, the Legislature and the Courts allow the extremely rich casino industry to poison its workers, we will continue our fight.”
Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos, but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia.
Currently, smoking is allowed on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City. But those areas are not contiguous, and the practical effect is that secondhand smoke is present in varying degrees throughout the casino floor.
The lawsuit filed in April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos, sought to overturn New Jersey’s indoor smoking law, which bans it in virtually every workplace except casinos.
In a May 13 hearing before the judge in Trenton, Smith raised issues of equal protection under the law, and what she called a constitutional right to safety. The judge, however, said the workers’ “reliance on a constitutional right to safety is not well-settled law” and predicted they would not be likely to prevail with such a claim.
The state attorney general’s office emphasized the possibility that a smoking ban could reduce tax revenue that funds programs for New Jersey’s senior citizens and disabled residents.
Atlantic City briefly implemented a smoking ban in 2008, but quickly repealed it after the casinos experienced a drop in revenue of nearly 20% in two weeks, according to Seth Ptasiewicz, an attorney for casino workers who want to keep the current smoking policy.
Smoking opponents dispute that the casinos would lose business, citing a study showing casinos that ended smoking did better financially without it.
The anti-smoking workers brought the lawsuit after years of efforts to get lawmakers to change the law became bogged down.
Shortly after a bill that would end smoking advanced out of a state Senate committee, other lawmakers introduced a competing bill that would continue to allow smoking on 25% of the casino floor, but would reconfigure where it is allowed. No employee would be forced to work in a smoking area against their will, under the bill.
Neither measure has been acted on in months.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
veryGood! (66642)
Related
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- West Virginia Senate OKs bill to allow veterans, retired police to provide armed security in schools
- Belarusian journalist goes on trial for covering protests, faces up to 6 years in prison
- A mudslide in Colombia’s west kills at least 18 people and injures dozens others
- The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Donald Trump over 'Seven Nation Army' use
- Donald Trump ordered to pay The New York Times and its reporters nearly $400,000 in legal fees
- Speaker Johnson insists he’s sticking to budget deal but announces no plan to stop partial shutdown
- Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill, Fred Warner unanimous selections for AP All-Pro Team
- Police identify 7-year-old child killed in North Carolina weekend shooting
- Detroit officer, 2 suspects shot after police responding to shooting entered a home, official says
Ranking
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- 3 teens face charges in Christmas Day youth facility disturbance, Albuquerque sheriff says
- From Elvis to Lisa Marie Presley, Inside the Shocking Pileup of Tragedy in One Iconic Family
- More drone deliveries, new AI tech: Here's a guide to what Walmart unveiled at CES 2024
- Some women are stockpiling Plan B and abortion pills. Here's what experts have to say.
- Spain forward Jenni Hermoso says former coach Jorge Vilda made players feel uncomfortable
- Ukrainian trucker involved in deadly crash wants license back while awaiting deportation
- Midwest braces for winter storm today. Here's how much snow will fall and when, according to weather forecasts
Recommendation
-
Hill House Home’s Once-A-Year Sale Is Here: Get 30% off Everything & up to 75% off Luxury Dresses
-
Ford vehicles topped list of companies affected by federal recalls last year, feds say
-
State trooper plunges into icy Vermont pond to save 8-year-old girl
-
Stop, Drop, and Shop Free People’s Sale on Sale, With an Extra 25% Off Their Boho Basics & More
-
NBA today: Injuries pile up, Mavericks are on a skid, Nuggets return to form
-
3 Palestinians killed by Israeli army after they attack in West Bank settlement
-
Simon Cowell’s Cute New Family Member Has Got a Talent for Puppy Dog Eyes
-
Colin Kaepernick on Jim Harbaugh: He's the coach to call to compete for NFL championship