Sunday, April 21, 2013

E-2: Gold Spike Closure Lawsuit



  • On Sunday, April 14th, Gold Spike casino and hotel closed after 36 years of operation.
  • Notification to employees occurred three days prior, on April 11th.
  • Debra Camp, the Plaintiff and former cocktail waitress at the Gold Strike, filed a lawsuit in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act requesting Class Action Status for her and her fellow unemployed co-workers.
  • The WARN Act requires 60-days notice if an employer of at least 100 employees anticipates closing a factory or laying off employees. 
  • There is an exception, however, for “unforeseen business consequences”. This exception applies to closings and layoffs that are caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would otherwise have been required.
  • If the court finds that the Gold Spike owners could not reasonably foresee the establishment would be closing between February 14 and April 14, then the casino wins. If, however, the court does not accept this exception, the employees of Gold Spike win.