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Jason v. Showboat Hotel & Casino3/28/2000
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
Argued: March 1, 2000
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Atlantic County.
Plaintiff, Mark Jason, was terminated from his employment with defendant Showboat Hotel and Casino on December 30, 1995. His complaint against Showboat and the individual defendants ("Showboat" or "defendant" collectively) alleges race discrimination in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -42; a Pierce claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy by virtue of disciplinary procedures imposed by defendant in its employee handbook, claimed to be a contract of adhesion; and a Wooley claim for violation of the employee handbook. Plaintiff appeals from summary judgment dismissing his complaint in its entirety.
We have carefully reviewed the record, the briefs, and the arguments of counsel, and we are satisfied that summary judgment was justified and was not imposed in error. We therefore affirm. Plaintiff's contentions with respect to the employee handbook as a violation of public policy, as well as a contract that was itself violated, are without sufficient merit to warrant extended discussion in this opinion. See R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E). Suffice it to say that an employer is entitled to promulgate its own disciplinary rules and procedures, and the record clearly establishes that plaintiff was afforded all of the procedural rights to which he was entitled under Showboat's employee handbook.
We are equally satisfied that Jason failed to offer sufficient proofs to withstand summary judgment dismissing his LAD claim. However, we deem it appropriate to discuss that claim in somewhat more depth.
Plaintiff, who is African-American, began working at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City in May 1987 as a part-time dealer. He became a full-time dealer in June 1989. By April 1990, when he became a full-time "boxperson," he had been promoted twice. By 1993 he was a "floorperson," apparently the highest non-managerial position on the floor of the casino, with responsibilities for overseeing the performance of lower level employees on the floor, including other dealers. He was a floorperson when he was terminated on December 30, 1995.
Defendant cited four incidents between October and December 24, 1995 as grounds for Jason's termination on December 30, which was precipitated by the December 24 confrontation with a casino patron. The first cited incident involved a charge that Jason took an unauthorized break while working an overnight shift, a charge which plaintiff disputed at the time. The second, on December 16, for which plaintiff was not cited until December 24, involved plaintiff's allegedly unauthorized change in his break schedule and his demeanor in response to a supervisor's questions about his break schedule. The third, for which plaintiff also was not cited until December 24, involved an alleged failure on December 18, 1995 to report certain irregularities in the conduct of a dealer at a table under his supervision.
The December 24 incident that precipitated plaintiff's termination involved Yin Ho, an Asian patron whom plaintiff refused to pay in the black chips ($100) that Ho requested. Jason insisted on paying Ho in higher denomination purple or orange chips ($500 and $1,000 respectively). The player, who complained about plaintiff's treatment and was threatening to leave with his friends, had to be mollified by supervisors. Plaintiff was removed from the game and brought to the shift manager's office, where Jason and defendants Furey and Garvey, who held supervisory positions over him, ha
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