Station Casinos blames "Right to Return" law for not filling some job positions

Station Casinos has told employees that it will not fill some job positions due to flaws in the “Right to Return” law, which was signed by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak earlier this month and is set to become effective July 1, giving hope to many casino workers laid off during the pandemic that are waiting to be rehired.

In a letter to employees, the Las Vegas casino operator said "… after July 1, we will not be filling jobs we normally would due to this very wrong law, which punishes us for trying to bring team members back to work," FOX5 reports.

Station Casinos told employees certain parts of the law are so confusing they won't be able to figure out the right order to rehire. Under the “Right to Return” law, if an employer is hiring, they must give priority to the previously laid off worker, either their same job or a similar position. The worker has just 24 hours to accept or decline the position, but the former worker still has the opportunity to decline a position three times before they'll no longer be considered. Also, the law states that the hours and position must be similar to what the employee worked before.

"The Culinary Union should come clean and explain to their members and everyone else that the law does precisely the opposite of what it was supposedly intended to do – encourage rehiring," the company told FOX5 in a statement. "It burdens employers with additional and redundant recordkeeping. It exposes employers to costly litigation with every hire. It rewards part time and on call employees ahead of full time employees, even for full time jobs. Its reality is flatly inconsistent with the PR spin campaign that has been carefully orchestrated around Right to Return. And it was implemented at the worst possible time, a period when employers can’t get workers back to return to work."

Station Casinos said it has rehired more than 1,500 employees. The company is hiring and has held job fairs in June.

The Culinary Union said earlier in the pandemic other major resorts agreed to recall rights in the union contracts, “bringing workers back at the same level of seniority, pay, and benefits. It would be a shame if the non-union companies, like Station Casinos, do not follow the standard set by the largest gaming employers in Nevada." The law goes into effect Thursday, and lasts through August 2022.