Casino Workers Urge Newly Confirmed New Jersey Attorney General to Drop Opposition to Smokefree Casino Lawsuit
Atlantic City, NJ —On Tuesday, the New Jersey Senate unanimously confirmed Jennifer Davenport to be Attorney General. One of Davenport’s first decisions as Attorney General will be deciding whether to follow her predecessor’s lead and defend the casino smoking loophole in front of the state Supreme Court.
“During her Senate Judiciary Confirmation hearing earlier this month, Attorney General Davenport said that she would prioritize enforcement and regulation that addresses harms done to the people of New Jersey. If this is true, she has no choice but to drop her office’s defense of the state’s discriminatory smoking policies,” said Nicole Vitola, longtime Atlantic City casino worker and co-founder of CEASE. “Allowing toxic secondhand smoke on gaming floors is a clear violation of the inalienable right to safety enshrined in our state’s constitution. Beyond the law, casino workers in Atlantic City are being harmed each and every day while we breathe in toxic air just to make ends meet. Will Attorney General Davenport stand by her predecessor’s defense of indoor smoking, or will she drop her office’s opposition to our lawsuit and stop defending this unconstitutional loophole?”
As the Senate was voting on Davenport’s nomination, CEASE and the UAW officially filed their petition to take their lawsuit against the state of New Jersey, Governor Sherrill, and acting Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard E. Washington to the state Supreme Court. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the casino smoking exemption and demands equal protection for tens of thousands of workers forced to breathe secondhand smoke on the job.
Last month, a New Jersey Appellate Court held that the New Jersey Supreme Court is the appropriate court to rule on the constitutional issues raised by the workers. The appellate court also ordered further proceedings to examine the casino industry’s highly contested claim that smokefree casinos would cause grave economic damage. AG Davenport’s office joined the casino industry’s attempt to delay these proceedings — helping the industry avoid having to back up its claims with actual evidence.
“The casino industry has hidden behind a phony economic argument for years,” said Nancy Erika Smith, Esq., of Montclair’s Smith Mullin, representing CEASE and the UAW. “Now they are trying to avoid having the evidence for that argument examined in court. Their desperate attempt to avoid doing so speaks volumes about the quality of their arguments. If the casino industry thinks their argument holds water, they should welcome this hearing — and the state should not join their effort to stonewall.”
###
Casino Employees Against Smoking (Harmful) Effects (CEASE) is a group of thousands of casino dealers and other frontline gaming workers that formed after indoor smoking returned on July 4, 2021 in Atlantic City, NJ and has expanded to states around the country. CEASE is fighting to permanently remove smoking from our workplaces.
See what casino workers say about working in secondhand smoke: the Real Deal
See what casino workers’ kids say about their moms and dads who work in secondhand smoke: kids of CEASE
