Employees at Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers Casino Philadelphia have revealed a casino policy of secrecy and cover-ups related to workers who have become infected with the Covid-19 virus, in anonymous comments to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The report also quoted employees complaining that the casino has been lax in enforcing state-mandated safety guidelines, including inconsistent cleaning and disinfecting methods on surfaces and in failing to require customers to wear masks.
According to the Inquirer report, employees returning to work at Rivers after the pandemic shutdown have been instructed not to advise supervisors if they test positive for Covid-19, only to call in sick without discussing details of their illness.
“Do NOT share ANY FURTHER details about the reason for your absence,” the Daily COVID-19 Self Assessment instructions read, according to the report. “We’ve had a lot of no shows, and it raises suspicions of why hasn’t management come out and said anything,” one employee told the Inquirer.
The report also quoted longtime employees speaking on terms of anonymity that casino managers are not enforcing anti-Covid-19 rules. “You got players walking around with masks on their necks, on their chin,” said one table games dealer. “The supervisors are afraid of the players. They haven’t been trained properly, and they’re afraid to say something.”
“I don’t blame any of the management or my coworkers for why things were so bad—my coworkers and managers were some of the best people I worked for,” said another dealer. “I blame the company. I blame the executives. I blame the city officials that allowed this to be open. I know people want to return to normalcy, but at what cost?”
Casino officials declined to be interviewed for the article, issuing the following statement to the Inquirer:
“If any cases have potential for impact on Team Members or guests, they are notified accordingly. Team Members with specific concerns are encouraged to speak with their Team Leaders. Our goal is to provide the safest possible environment and evolve as new information becomes available.”
