Layoffs, furloughs announced for Puyallup tribal government workers after casino shutdown
After an announcement earlier in the week of furloughs and layoffs involving its Emerald Queen Casino staff as a result of the coronavirus shutdown, more bad news arrived Friday from the Puyallup Tribe.
In a Friday news release, the tribe announced furloughs, layoffs and hour reductions were coming to members of its tribal government.
“With both Emerald Queen Casino locations temporarily closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Puyallup Tribe’s governing council has decided on a range of actions to conserve the tribe’s resources and ensure vital services are provided to the community,” according to the announcement.
“The decisions include furloughs, layoffs and hour reductions for tribal government’s workforce of over 600 people.”
Included in the measures:
▪ About 40 temporary and emergency-hire employees have been laid off.
▪ About 40 percent of the tribal government workforce is on temporary furlough beginning April 16.
▪ Nearly all of the other 60 percent of employees is moving from 40 hours to 34 hours per week beginning April 16.
▪ Other actions include suspension of capital projects and the shifting of their dollars to support government operations.
“We value and care about each and every employee, and these decisions were very difficult to make,” the Tribal Council said in Friday’s news release.
The workers will be able to keep their medical benefits while on furlough and are encouraged to file for unemployment.
The moves come after the closure of the tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino sites, which temporarily shut down March 17. Earlier this week it announced the closures would be extended for at least another two weeks. About 85 percent of its casino workforce has been laid off or furloughed.
“Without incoming revenue from the casinos, the financial situation is serious,” the Tribal Council said in a statement on Friday. “Council unanimously agreed to take pay cuts. We have turned over every stone we could find. But in the end we have had to make hard decisions that affect our valued employees.”
The news came the same day that U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office announced that millions in federal housing funding was on its way to Washington state tribes from the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Out of that relief, the Puyallup Tribe is set to receive just over $1 million. The money is to develop, maintain and operate affordable housing, with a focus on providing housing and other resources for tribal families with low incomes, according to a statement issued Friday by Murray’s office.
The tribe is one of Pierce County’s top 10 largest employers, with more than 3,000 employees in its various ventures.
The Tribe owns two casinos, one on Pacific Highway in Fife and one on East 29th Street in Tacoma. When the Tacoma operation is ready to resume, it is expected to shift to the tribe’s new $450 million site at 2920 E. R. St.
