MGM to provide child care, tutoring discounts to working parents

As Clark County School District students return to school Monday with distance learning, only one of Nevada’s six largest casino operators has provided details of what accommodations it is providing for working employees.

MGM Resorts International said Friday that it would provide its employees with discounted rates to child care, tutoring and computer equipment.

“Our goal is to be part of the solution for these parents,” said MGM spokeswoman Callie Driehorst in a statement.

Representatives for Caesars Entertainment Inc., Boyd Gaming Corp., Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Station Casinos did not respond to repeated requests for comment on what accommodations, if any, will be made available for working employees with children.

Federal labor laws do exist for parents that want to take 10 weeks of paid leave, but industry experts aren’t sure if it’s sustainable.

“The big elephant in the room is people are going to lose their jobs,” Nevada Association of Employer’s Amy Matthews told the Review-Journal last week. “Let’s say you’re a plumber and you get 10 weeks of leave to take care of your kids, but after that you still can’t work from home. What are you supposed to do?”

Access to affordable child care tops the list of concerns for many Nevada working employees who cannot work from home.

MGM said it is offering these programs based on feedback it received from employees with school-aged children.

Driehorst said MGM will continue to “explore possible solutions and understand developing needs as the school year progresses.”

MGM employees will also have access to its online “Employee Working Parents Network Group,” a platform that allows employees to find support and post resources with other local working parents.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.