Casino Employees Could be Paid for Lost Wages

State workers who were forced to stay at home because of last week's government shutdown will be getting paid for their unexpected days off. However, the same cannot be said for the casino workers and other private sector workers who were likewise affected by the budget impasse in New Jersey.

Lawmakers from local counties are now pushing for the state of New Jersey to reimburse the employers or otherwise give them tax credits to enable them to pay their respective workers for lost money due to the shutdown. Some of the most affected workers are those that work for casinos and racetracks that were closed down for three days.

Assemblyman Jim Wheelan is drafting a bill that would require the state to help those people in addition to state employees. The bill is expected to be introduced later this month.

"Union workers on state-funded construction projects aren't receiving any breaks," said Whelan, D-Atlantic, a former Atlantic City mayor. "Tens of thousands of casino workers and racetrack employees aren't receiving any breaks. We need to establish a certification process to ensure that those who were genuinely impacted by this shutdown get a fair shake on whatever is owed to them, too."

The legislation would also cover racetrack employees, road construction workers and other employees who do not get their paychecks directly from the state but lost wages anyway as a result of the shutdown. Approximately 36,000 casino employees were temporarily laid off as a result of the government shutdown.