An easy casino fix

Beacon Hill may soon make it easier for casinos to hire workers with criminal records, and given the effort to provide employment opportunities to more people in underserved communities the move actually makes sense. But the Gaming Commission must use its new authority sparingly.

The idea behind the proposed change is that casinos may be willing to hire, say, a cook who has had a previous run-in with the law. The change approved by the House would empower the commission to exempt certain job categories from the rule that all gaming employees register with the commission’s investigations and enforcement bureau.

A few years ago some casino honchos called for a slew of changes to the carefully crafted law, and loosening this rule was one of them. At the time we warned that gaming fat cats shouldn’t get to call the shots on how Massachusetts regulates the industry.

But as the casino landscape has taken shape there are now practical considerations, as well as issues of simple fairness. MGM Springfield is scheduled to open next year, for example, in a city with a jobless rate nearly double the state average. MGM should be able to make hiring decisions in its best interest that also benefit the community it serves.

Our biggest criticism of this push is not with the policy but with the process. The House threw it into a supplemental budget being rushed through to close the books on the last fiscal year. That’s a terrible (but typical) way to handle matters with serious policy implications.

If the measure does become law the pressure will be on the commission to be judicious with its new authority. It should go without saying, but commissioners should resist exempting broad categories of employees from the registration requirement. Dishwashers? Sure. Croupiers and cash handlers? No way in hell.

We say that not to spare the casino employers a headache, but because Massachusetts took a huge risk by expanding legal gaming, and is working hard to ensure the industry is squeaky-clean. Any loosening of casino oversight has the potential to undo that.