Judge allows smoking in Atlantic City casinos, strikes down workers

A judge on Friday allowed smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, providing some relief to the city’s casino industry while rejecting workers who have long sought to be able to breathe fresh air on the casino floor.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels was a major victory for the city’s nine casinos, most of which make less money from in-person gamblers than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it was a major setback for workers who have been trying for four years to ban workplace smoking, first by trying to get lawmakers to change the law, then by filing a lawsuit. An attorney for the workers said they will ask the state Supreme Court to hear the case quickly.

Casinos have warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling and tax revenue could be lost if smoking is banned.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint and reject her attempt to change the Smoke-Free Air Act outside the legislative process,” said Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and the Casino Association of New Jersey.

He said the industry, the city and the main union for casino workers, Local 54 of Unite Here “have taken significant steps over the years to create a healthier environment for employees and patrons, including limiting smoking to just a fraction of surface”.

“We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders toward a solution that addresses the health concerns of our employees while protecting the collective interest and well-being of the entire Atlantic City workforce,” Giannantonio said.

Anti-smoking activists have vowed to continue pushing for smoke-free casinos.

“This fight is far from over,” said Lamont White, a Borgata dealer and a leader in the anti-smoking movement. “Although today’s result is disappointing, our determination remains unwavering.”

White said the decision gives lawmakers “even more reason to uphold their responsibility to finally do the right thing and pass the bipartisan legislation that New Jerseyans overwhelmingly support,” he said. “It’s time to make things right for the thousands of us workers who still work and live without the same protections afforded to all other New Jerseyans.”

Nancy Erika Smith, who argued the case on behalf of the workers, condemned the decision and vowed to appeal it.

“While the rest of the nation turns away from poisoning workers for profits, New Jersey is ashamed of itself,” she said in a written statement. “As long as the Governor, the Legislature and the Courts allow the extremely wealthy casino industry to poison their workers, we will continue our fight.”

The smoking ban is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos, but also in other states where workers have raised concerns about second-hand smoke. They are running similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia.

Smoking is currently permitted on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City. But those areas are not contiguous, and the practical effect is that secondhand smoke is present to varying degrees throughout the casino floor.

The lawsuit filed in April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos, sought to overturn New Jersey’s indoor smoking law, which bans it in almost every workplace except casinos.

In a May 13 hearing before a judge in Trenton, Smith raised issues of equal protection under the law and what she called a constitutional right to safety. The judge said, however, that workers’ “reliance on the constitutional right to safety is not well-settled law” and predicted he would be unlikely to prevail on such a claim.

The state attorney general’s office has pointed to the possibility that the smoking ban could reduce tax revenue that funds programs for New Jersey’s senior citizens and residents with disabilities.

Atlantic City briefly implemented a smoking ban in 2008, but quickly repealed it after casinos saw revenue drop nearly 20 percent in two weeks, according to Seth Ptasiewicz, an attorney for casino workers who want to keep the policy current smoking policy.

Opponents of smoking dispute that casinos would lose business, citing a study showing that casinos that stopped smoking fared better financially without it.

Anti-smoking activists filed the lawsuit after years of efforts to get lawmakers to change the law stalled.

Shortly after a bill that would end smoking advanced out of a state Senate committee, other lawmakers introduced a competing bill that would continue to allow smoking on 25 percent of the casino floor, but would reconfigure where allowed. No employee would be forced to work in a smoking area against their will, according to the bill.

No action has been taken for months.

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