On Friday, Aug. 30, a Superior Court judge struck down a lawsuit brought by Atlantic City Casino employees, aiming to ban smoking inside nine venues. 

The judge, Patrick Bartels, ruled that smoking can continue as the current law allows. 

The Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), one of the leading groups seeking a different outcome, released the following statement: 

“While today’s outcome is disappointing, our determination remains unshaken. For 18 long years, we’ve suffered from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, falling victim to the loophole that state legislators created that jeopardizes our lives. The court battle continues, and we will ask the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear this case on an expedited basis.”

Lawsuit Filed in April

The lawsuit was initially brought in April to change the current law, which allows smoking on 25% of the casino floor. Nancy Erika Smith represented the casino, and she says they’ll appeal the ruling. 

“While the rest of the nation moves away from poisoning workers for profits, New Jersey shames itself. As long as the Governor, the Legislature and the Courts allow the extremely rich casino industry to poison its workers, we will continue our fight.”

After the lawsuit was filed, Donna DeCaprio, the president of UNITE Here Local 54, which represents thousands of casino employees, said that if this lawsuit was ruled in favor, it would be “catastrophic” as up to 72% of retail casino revenue come from the smoking sections and could result in thousands of jobs being lost. 

“We are gratified by the court’s decision to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint,” Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Atlantic City and of the Casino Association of New Jersey, said to the Associated Press, “and deny its attempt to change the Smoke-Free Air Act outside of the legislative process.”

Giannantonio also mentioned that Atlantic City and casino workers “have taken significant steps over the years to create a healthier environment for employees and patrons, including limiting smoking to just a fraction of the floor space.”

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