Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort Offers Raises to Fully Vaccinated Workers
August 26, 2021
(AP/AB) Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort of Hot Springs said Thursday that it will give raises to employees who are fully vaccinated.
In a news release, the casino and thoroughbred racetrack said that, beginning Oct. 10, wages for "all current and future fully vaccinated non-tipped, hourly team members will be raised to a minimum of $16 per hour."
Fully vaccinated, tipped hourly employees will see their pay increased to a minimum of $8.50 per hour, and vaccinated salaried employees will get a 3% pay raise.
The company said its new starting annual salary for fully vaccinated salaried employees will be $40,000 per year. It said current employees are eligible for the vaccine incentive through Dec. 31.
"We live in challenging times right now," Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. "We are struggling to fill open positions and COVID is still hanging on. With the vaccine incentive, we are looking to change the financial health of our current and future team members."
Oaklawn said new and seasonal employees after Jan. 1 will be eligible for the incentive by providing a valid vaccination card.
"It's pretty groundbreaking to make that big of a wage increase for our team members who are vaccinated, but we believe that, being one of the largest employers in Garland County, with nearly 1,000 employees, it is a very important step in the right direction," Joan Botts, Oaklawn's vice president of marketing, told Arkansas Business in an interview. "It's creating an incentive to ultimately provide the safest environment possible for our team members and our guests."
Story by Lance Turner and Kyle Massey for The Associated Press, published on Arkansas Business.
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