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Foreign Workers Fill Casino Jobs

BILOXI, Mississippi – As reported by the Biloxi Sun Herald: "It's not uncommon to hear Caribbean accents in hotel halls because casino resorts employ hundreds of foreign workers for housekeeping and other hard-to-fill jobs.

"Beau Rivage, Grand Casino Gulfport, Casino Magic Biloxi and Treasure Bay Casino have all received authorization from the U.S. Department of Labor to hire the workers. Casinos employed 544 foreign nationals last year, according to the latest federal data.

"…Most are from Jamaica. Besides the higher salary, there's the advantage of the currency exchange rate. One U.S. dollar is worth about $61 to $62 Jamaican dollars.

"Other foreign nationals, especially college-age people from Eastern Europe and other locations, work here during their summers under another type of work permit.

"Many people believe these foreign nationals take jobs away from Americans by working for less pay. But before any business can bring in foreign labor, it has to show that it has been unable to fill the positions. Once the foreign workers are hired, it must pay the state prevailing wage or, if there is a federal institution such as a military base in the same area, pay the federal hourly wage rate for the same type of job.

"…Many of the workers have been coming here for years so the Coast has become a second home…"

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