SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and MGM Springfield have reached a settlement agreement where the casino will have to pay $6.8 million in restitution and penalties for wage and hour violations.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, MGM Springfield allegedly failed to pay minimum wage to tipped employees, failed to pay overtime wages, unlawful tip retention by management, failed to make timely payments of wages and failed to provide paid earned sick time. MGM Springfield will pay a total settlement amount of $6,839,287.

“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,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to hold accountable those who violate our wage and hour laws.” 

This settlement follows a multi-year-long investigation. In October 2018, MGM employees complained to the Attorney General’s office about violations such as managers illegally participating in wait staff tip-pooling, service-rate employees being underpaid for overtime, and forcing security guards to work through their lunch breaks without compensation.

A total of 2,036 employees were impacted, most were service employees who are paid hourly such as table game dealers, banquet servers, bartenders, ushers, kitchen staff, casino floor staff, hotel staff, warehouse personnel, cleaners, and security guards. 

22News received the following statement from Dara Cohen, Director of Regional Corporate Communications at MGM Resorts International, following the announcement of the settlement, “We take our compliance obligations seriously and have made proactive updates since 2019 to address this issue. We will continue to invest in training and regular reviews of our policies and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance.”

MGM Springfield will implement a compliance program, which will provide training to staff on wage and hour compliance, as well as two annual wage and hour audits conducted by a third party who will submit their findings to the Attorney General’s office.