New York State formally began the process Dec. 16 of selecting an independent monitor to regularly check on Thoroughbred trainer Steve Asmussen’s compliance with labor laws as part of a recent deal that halted the state Gaming Commission’s hearing process that could have resulted in his license revocation.
The monitor is set to be in place starting Jan. 1 to ensure the trainer, who has faced past actions against him in New York and Kentucky over wage issues involving his employees, complies with all state and federal labor laws.
Brian O’Dwyer, the chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission, noted Monday to his fellow board members that he has questioned whether Asmussen “should continue to participate in New York racing.”
The new system being put in place to monitor Asmussen, O’Dwyer said, is being done to “ensure his stable abides by all labor laws.”
O’Dwyer, the state’s top regulator of the horse racing industry in New York, said he wants the individuals or firm selected for the monitor job to have experience in labor laws and, ideally he said, be a former prosecutor or judge.
“We want to get this going by January 1,” O’Dwyer said in urging interested applicants to quickly contact the Gaming Commission.
O’Dwyer has made trainer and owner compliance with labor laws one of his priorities since becoming the commission’s chairman just over two years ago. “Put succinctly, if you employ someone, you must abide by the law,” he said Monday.
The monitoring agreement entered into last month by the Gaming Commission and the Hall of Fame trainer states that the regulatory agency will cease the license revocation process involving Asmussen 30 days after the final quarterly report is made by the future monitor. The monitoring process is set to conclude Dec. 31, 2026.
Asmussen will pay for the costs of the monitor appointed by the state. Under the agreement to indefinitely suspend the license revocation hearing process, Asmussen and the state agreed that the trainer will release all records, books, and other information for the monitor to inspect on a regular basis. The monitor will file quarterly reports with the Gaming Commission “of activities performed, and observations made by the monitor,” according to the state’s formal solicitation that was released after Monday’s commission meeting.
The monitor must report to the state whether Asmussen is in compliance with all federal and state labor laws, including record keeping requirements regarding wage and hour laws, and prevailing wage requirements for nonimmigrant workers.
If violations are suspected, the monitor must give written notice to Asmussen 30 days after issuance of the noncompliance notice in order for the conditions to be corrected. If not corrected, the monitor must “promptly inform” the state, according to the solicitation document.
The solicitation document seeks information on applicants’ specific background in labor laws, whether they’ve had experience as a court or government-appointed monitor and asks them to provide a proposed fee structure.
