American casino operator Hard Rock International has reportedly announced that it is to spend more than $100 million this year so as to increase the basic wages for up to 10,000 of its non-tipped employees.

According to a Monday report from the Associated Press news service, the firm revealed that the move mainly for members of its staff based in the United States will encompass an almost 17% rise in minimum starting hourly salaries to $21. The company also purportedly detailed that this boost is to be available for those working across a selection of 95 roles running from cooks and housekeepers to front desk clerks and cage cashiers.

Significant succour:

Hard Rock International is an enterprise of the federally-recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida and reportedly explained that the incoming scheme could well result in some of its non-tipped workers enjoying immediate 60% pay rises. The operator behind 265 locations in 70 nations disclosed that the arrangement is to moreover encompass a range of merit-based rewards for salaried employees and has been designed to assist its existing staff in dealing with persistent post-pandemic inflation.

Retention resolve:

Jim Allen (pictured) serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Hard Rock International and he reportedly divulged that the new policy will furthermore assist his company in retaining and attracting talented staff and lessening employee turnover. The experienced executive purportedly noted that the scheme was implemented following an in-house study and is expected to benefit up to half of the firm’s United States workforce.

Reportedly read a statemen from Allen…

“We looked at all the starting salaries of all our frontline employees, certainly recognizing the economic conditions that have been going on, and wanted to do something to really help out and show our appreciation. We’re trying to find the highest quality employees, thanking them for their efforts and recognizing that with compensation.”

Significant settlement:

Hard Rock International is responsible for a number of prestigious American casino resorts including the 2,000-room Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City venue and reportedly inked a ‘historic’ deal in July to settle a labor dispute with this New Jersey property’s workforce. This understanding purportedly saw the company boost starting hourly salaries to $18 and agree to increase this rate to as high as $22 by 2026 for a number of roles including housekeeping.

Lucrative leap:

Allen reportedly asserted that his company’s new $18 starting hourly salary for New Jersey is two and a half times higher than the associated federal minimum of $7.25 with the firm additionally exceeding this benchmark in every one of the American jurisdictions in which it operates. The boss finished by observing that an entry-level hire in Atlantic City will now be able to receive as much as $6 above the state’s $13 base to pocket roughly $10,000 more a year for an annual salary of up to $37,440.