Great Canadian Gaming sued by B.C. casino employees dismissed during pandemic

Dismissed Casino Nanaimo employees filed a class-action lawsuit in Supreme Court in B.C., claiming the company acted in bad faith and wrongfully dismissed them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former employees claim the casino “failed to discharge their obligations of good faith, honesty and fair dealings with class members in effecting the terminations” of casino workers, as reported by Peace Arch News.

The corporation has 21 days after it is served with the notice to file a response.

The lawsuit said the company is claiming the workers are still employed, as it is continuing to pay for benefits, but the premiums were waived by Manulife Financial and the B.C. government.

None of the claims have been proven in a court of law.

According to court documents filed April 6, Catherine Fanning, Kimberly Bussiere, and Samantha Heffel are leading the civil suit against Casino Nanaimo operators Great Canadian Casinos. and Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

Due to COVID-19, business was halted on March 16, 2020, at that time Casino Nanaimo operators fired employees. Great Canadian also issued a memorandum stating workers were not allowed to “draw down on banked statutory vacation pay.” Utilizing accumulated vacation time “was suspended,” and “long-term disability pay and benefits, for which, the corporation, self-insured, was terminated” immediately, the suit claims.

The plaintiffs allege that another memo distributed in September contained “false information”, and outlined a “forced buyout process,” which would be equal to termination pay under the B.C. Employment Standards Act, amounting to one week of pay per year of service up to a maximum of eight weeks, disregarding years of service.

The plaintiffs stated that this past January, the company again offered a buyout, but this time capped payouts at $2,500 and changed requirements that settlement money is taken as severance, which would make them ineligible to receive employment insurance.

The plaintiffs, who are being represented by Martin Sheard and Geraldine Teixeira, say that the company should have known that it was “conducting a mass termination of employees without adequate compensation for the longer notice period applicable under the act.”

Chuck Keeling, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation executive vice-president of stakeholder relations and responsible gaming said: “As the matter is before the courts, we do not have a comment. We would note, however, we are eagerly anticipating the reopening of Casino Nanaimo as early as July 1, subject to receiving approval from the provincial government and, Dr. Bonnie Henry, to do so. We have been closed due to a government-mandated suspension of operations since March 16, 2020, to support the province’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID.

“To support the property’s reopening, we have already called back approximately 75 of our team members, and we are looking forward to having them back on the job.”