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s all three Detroit casinos remain closed under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s executive orders, roughly 2,000 furloughed workers of MotorCity Casino Hotel are poised to lose their employer-sponsored health insurance on Aug. 1
The Detroit casinos shut down March 16 as the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Like all unemployed workers, the casino employees also will soon stop receiving an extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits. That income top-up, authorized by the federal CARES Act pandemic relief package, expires at the end of this week.
“Our casino continues to be closed, due to government orders, without a firm reopening date,” MotorCity President Bruce Dall said in a statement Thursday. “Given this uncertainty, to protect the long-term viability of the casino, we have made the difficult decision to lay off the majority of our staff and end benefits, effective at the end of the day on July 31.”
MotorCity did not disclose the total number of laid-off employees. However, information on a Facebook page for casino workers said between 1,300 and 2,500 are expected to be let go.
The laid-off MotorCity workers will have four options if they wish to continue some form of health insurance. They also could choose to go without any health insurance. The Affordable Care Act’s financial penalty for skipping insurance, once $695 per adult or 2.5% of household income, ended in 2019.
Health insurance for furloughed MGM Grand Detroit workers is to continue through Aug. 31, a spokesperson said.
A representative for Greektown Casino-Hotel, operated by Penn National Gaming, declined to say when its employees’ health insurance benefits expire, adding that the matter is under discussion.
The UAW, union, which represents many Detroit casino workers, did not respond Thursday to Free Press inquiries.
In early June, the Michigan Gaming Control Board approved initial guidelines for the future reopening of the Detroit casinos that will limit the properties to 15% maximum occupancy capacity and prohibit smoking, playing poker or eating at the buffet, among other safety measures.
Dall, MotorCity’s president, said they once anticipated the casino closure order lifting by July 4, but it remained in place amid a rise in Michigan coronavirus cases.
MotorCity has continued to keep its hotel closed during the casino shutdown.
“We take great pride in all of our hardworking associates who have provided such tremendous service to our guests and we regret the terrible burden that this pandemic has brought to each of them,” Dall said.
Casino wagering taxes are one of the city of Detroit’s largest revenue sources and city officials say Detroit is losing about $600,000 a day in taxes from the shutdown.
