MGM Resorts International employees who are fully vaccinated can now remove their masks at work.
The gaming operator released a statement May 14 that vaccinated customers would no longer have to don masks at its nine properties in Las Vegas. But employees were still required to wear masks while at work.
Monday, that policy was updated to include employees.
“I’m happy to share that we’ve updated our employee mask policy so that employees who are verified as fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear a mask while at work,” said MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle in a statement.
MGM employees must produce a copy of their CDC vaccine card to go maskless as part of the company’s “Show Us Your Vaxx” campaign.
On May 13, Nevada gaming regulators allowed casinos to create their own mask policies after the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could resume activities without wearing facial coverings in indoor or outdoor settings.
Hornbuckle stated that proof-of-vaccination policy for employees is being implemented for several reasons:
- MGM Resorts International has the technology available to track employee vaccinations, and the company believes this approach complies with guidance from OSHA.
- The Nevada Gaming Control Board expects gaming employees to continue to get vaccinated so casinos can operate at 100% capacity and with no social distancing on gaming floors.
- Because large-scale conventions and events are crucial to Las Vegas businesses, high vaccination rates indicate to guests that “we care about our own health and safety, as well as theirs.”
“Many people are looking to us for assurances that our employees have been vaccinated against coronavirus, and now we must deliver,” Hornbuckle said. “Together, getting vaccinated and accounting for it will help us all get back to normal.”
“Community vaccination rates in Las Vegas will continue to serve as the basis for loosening of social distancing and capacity limitations at our properties,” Hornbuckle emphasized.
Hornbuckle urged any employees not yet vaccinated to visit the Mandalay Bay Convention Center clinic, between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, to get their shots.
