Atlantic City Casino Workers Seeking Smoke-Free Workplaces Ask NJ Supreme Court to Intervene
Posted on: February 26, 2026, 09:27h.
Last updated on: February 26, 2026, 09:27h.
- Atlantic City casino workers have asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to ban indoor smoking
- The lawsuit is brought by Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects and the United Auto Workers
Atlantic City casino workers and a union that represents 6,000 of the gaming employees down the New Jersey Shore have petitioned the state Supreme Court to intervene in their ongoing quest to extinguish indoor tobacco smoking at the nine resorts.
Last month, a state appellate court found that a Superior Court judge erred in his consideration of a lawsuit brought by CEASE (Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) that challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act. The law provided allowances for Atlantic City casinos to designate 25% of their gaming floor for cigarette and cigar smoking.
The lawsuit has since been returned to Superior Court, where CEASE and the UAW continue to prepare their offensive against the 2006 statute. The defendants are the state of New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), and NJ Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington. An evidentiary hearing is set for July.
In the meantime, CEASE and UAW are asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to intervene. CEASE is a grassroots coalition of casino workers who want to work in a place free of secondhand smoke. UAW Region 9 represents about 6,000 Atlantic City casino employees, including more than 1,200 dealers who bear the brunt of smoking.
Supreme Court Appeal
The plaintiffs are requesting that the New Jersey Supreme Court consider whether the state’s 2006 smoking exemption for casinos infringes on workers’ constitutional rights.
The CEASE and UAW petition cites the Garden State’s Constitution, which states that “all persons … have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.” The Supreme Court petition highlights the text “pursuing and obtaining safety.”
In August 2024, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels ruled with the state that the Smoke-free Air Act does not violate a casino worker’s constitutional rights to pursue health and safety. Bartels reasoned that the law does not stop a person from seeking employment in a smoke-free environment.
The appellate court found that Bartels did not adequately consider competing economic studies on how a smoking ban might impact the Atlantic City casino industry. The appellate judges stressed that their opinion was not a “public policy decision” but an order for the lower court to correct its “mistaken approach in applying the required constitutional methodology.”
Would Smoking Ban Hurt Atlantic City?
The Casino Association of New Jersey claims a smoking ban would be catastrophic, prompting many smokers to take their gaming business online or to nearby Philadelphia. A study commissioned by the casinos projected that smoke-free casinos would lead to mass layoffs and ravage the Atlantic City economy.
A similar study commissioned by CEASE proponents found that a smoking ban no longer causes a dramatic drop in gaming revenue. With smoking rates continuing to decline, smoke-free casinos can even see revenue gains, the study concluded.
The New Jersey Supreme Court will decide whether to accept the casino smoking case in the coming weeks. The state’s high court typically accepts less than 10% of the petitions it receives each year.
Last Comment ( 1 )
The unavailability of indoor smoking doesn't seem to be negatively impacting business at Mohegan Sun (in Connecticut) or Encore Boston Harbor based on the crowds I see at both facilities. When Encore has a Gift Giveaway taking place on a Saturday, it often takes about an hour to make it to the front of the line. Lots of time to observe how many people are there. The percentage of adults that smoke has dropped considerably since 2006 (when the NJ law was enacted). Sorry, but the continued cries of "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" by the casino owners is nothing more than a smoke-screen to hide their insecurities over ANY changes to the status quo. They were probably kicking and screaming when the rest of the industry switched from coin slots to TITO slots and they had no choice but to do the same.