Harbourt v. PPE Casino

N/A

OUTCOME:

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland, LLC (“the Casino”) owns and operates Maryland Live!, a casino in Hanover, Maryland. Beginning in June 2012, in response to the legalization of gambling in Maryland, the Cas ... ino began offering slot machines. Pursuant to a November 2012 referendum, the State authorized casinos, beginning on April 11, 2013, to also operate table games like blackjack, poker, craps, and roulette. Plaintiffs, Claudia Harbourt, Michael Lukoski, and Ursula Pocknett (collectively “the Trainees”), as well as approximately 10,000 other persons, applied for these advertised positions. The Casino extensively interviewed applicants, assessing their congeniality, personality, and ability to perform basic math on their feet. The Casino asked select applicants, including the Trainees, “if they would like to attend a course to become a dealer at Maryland Live!” and explained that the course would be free, last twelve weeks, and would teach them “how to conduct table games for Maryland Live!” In 2014, the Trainees filed this putative class action asserting violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201–219 (2012) (“FLSA” or “the Act”), the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, Md.Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3–401 to –431 (2015) (“MWHL”), and the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Law, Md.Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3–501 to –509 (2015) (“MWPCL”). The Casino moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The district court granted the motion to dismiss, holding that the Trainees “fail[ed] to show that the primary beneficiary of their attendance at the training was the Casino rather than themselves.” The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded by a unanimous published opinion.