Employees of Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort have returned from furlough to assist the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) in processing unemployment claims and helping Mississippians access their benefits.
Seeing MDES’ challenges in processing an unprecedented number of unemployment claims, Scarlet Pearl brought back furloughed employees to assist in helping Mississippians file claims and access benefits.
When Mississippians call the MDES number, a group of the calls is directed to a satellite call center staffed by 30 employees from the hotel-reservations and casino-host departments. The D’Iberville-based casino resort is the first private business in Mississippi to lend services to the state in this way.
“Scarlet Pearl is proud of our ‘caring culture’ that serves customers, associates and the Mississippi Gulf Coast community. Helping MDES accomplishes all three,” said LuAnn Pappas, CEO of Scarlet Pearl.
Based in Mississippi, as required by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, Scarlet Pearl employees have not only had the necessary background checks but have also taken customer-service classes as part of Scarlet Pearl’s training. In creating the on-property infrastructure, Scarlet Pearl’s facilities and information technology departments made the property an extension of MDES, while implementing strict social-distancing measures.
LuAnn Pappas sees Scarlet Pearl’s partnership with MDES as the start of innovative solutions between Mississippi casinos and the state to keep people working and help the community. “As our world evolves,” she said, “casinos will too.”
