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WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2006 – While competing for its share of the tourism market on the famed Las Vegas Strip, the MGM Mirage hotel and casino has earned something perhaps just as valuable: employee approval.
The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Defense Department agency, has announced that the MGM Mirage is one of 15 recipients of the 2006 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The award publicly recognizes employers, nominated by employees serving in the National Guard and reserves, for exceptional support above the requirements of federal law.
Several MGM Mirage employees nominated their employer for the Freedom Award, Jeff Ellis, chief financial officer of corporate benefits for the MGM Mirage, said.
“We had seven or eight employees that sent in nominations. I don’t know which one was the one that got us the (award),” he said, adding that MGM Mirage officials are pleased with the recognition. “They’re very happy that (the employees) felt strong enough about our policy to actually nominate us for these awards.”
The MGM Mirage’s policy includes continued full pay and benefits for any employee called to active duty, Ellis said. “Whatever benefits they’ve selected as an employee, we continue them,” he said.
Of the hotel and casino’s 70,000-person workforce, about 110 are members of military reserve components, Ellis said. They work in positions ranging from security and information technology to management. Twenty-four of those employees currently are benefiting from continued full pay and benefits as they serve on active duty in their respective services.
“We don’t want them to have to worry about their family or their loved ones that they’ve left behind,” Ellis said. “We want our employees, our people that are called to active duty, to really concentrate on what they’re doing over there.”
ESGR will present the Freedom Awards to all 15 recipients during a ceremony Sept. 21 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, in Washington, D.C.
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