In recent months, Wynn Las Vegas initiated legal proceedings against rival casino, Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The allegations center around a supposed act of siphoning off key employees via lucrative offers, thereby violating their non-compete agreements.
Preceding month, Wynn sought a provisional injury-avoidance order in court, with an aim to prevent Fontainebleau and other corporations from disturbing its operations via employee luring. Latest event in the ongoing legal feud between these two entertainment giants was a Clark County District Judge disallowing Wynn’s injunctive plea towards Fontainebleau.
As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the judgement came on a Thursday morning, with Clark County District Judge Mark Denton dismissing Wynn’s injunctive plea. Denton pointed out the excessive breadth of the plea, which he considered not suitable for an injunction.
A Supposed Tactic of Intimidation
During a recent court session, Patrick Byrne, Wynn’s representative, maintained the plea aimed at safeguarding its operations from Fontainebleau’s alleged employee predatory actions.
At the Thursday hearing, Byrne reaffirmed that merely an approximated 5% of Wynn’s workforce or 750 executive-tier employees are governed by varying non-compete agreements. Byrne insisted that the plea for injunction was designed to avert rival interference in contractual alliances between Wynn and its employees.
Todd Bice, Fontainebleau’s representative, countered Wynn’s allegations. He suggested that Wynn aimed to manipulate the judicial power to intimidate its workforce. Bice professed this threat could hinder employees from moving to better paying roles with other companies. He discussed the robust market opportunities created by consistent opening of new resorts, at the Thursday hearing.
In the lawsuit, Wayne Crane, Entertainment director for Wynn Nightlife, was one among several executives referred. According to the legal document, Crane was approached by Fontainebleau’s SVP of nightlife, Michael Waltman.
Crane was reportedly enticed with a promising job offer which he accepted. However, Wynn intervened by counter-offering to retain Crane. It contended that Crane might have shifted to Fontainebleau had they not offered a significant salary hike. Consequently, Wynn launched the lawsuit.
FTC Approves Non-compete Clauses Prohibition
This legal conflict unfolds in the backdrop of an era where non-compete clauses were recently proscribed nationwide. According to the announcement made late last month by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the objective behind banning was to uphold the employees’ rights to switch jobs nation-wide. While a general ban was imposed on non-compete clauses, those already in effect, similar to ones involving Wynn’s top-level staff, are still operational.
