Harrah's Employee Relief Hotline Launched - Re-Release
LAS VEGAS, NV, September 7, 2005. With its first Hurricane Katrina relief effort priority being the health and well-being of the nearly 8,000 members of the Harrah's family of employees living in the Biloxi, Gulfport, and New Orleans areas, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. today launched the Harrah's Employee Relief Hotline.
Harrah's is asking all displaced employees to call the toll-free number so they can be accounted for, and so they can be directed to relief services. The Harrah's Employee Relief Hotline number is 877-422-7466.
In other updates, Harrah's said that for the next 90 days it will: * Cover health care premiums for hourly and non-management employees; * Pay all medical claims as "in-network," regardless of where medical coverage is received; * Temporarily suspend pre-authorization requirement for medical care; * Temporarily suspend time limits on access to scheduled prescriptions drug deliveries and/or refills; * Temporarily suspend time limits on vision care coverage, providing affected employees with immediate access to eye exams to allow for the replacement of eyeglasses and contact lenses; * Give first preference for current employment opportunities at Harrah's operations across the country to employees from the three affected properties; and * Use the Western Union network to wire emergency funds to those employees unable to access their bank accounts. Harrah's will pay the cost of these transactions.
Earlier this week, Harrah's announced the following efforts to help employees:
- Harrah's will pay employees from the three affected properties their base pay for up to 90 days; * A Harrah's Employee Information Center is being established at the Harrah's Entertainment Corporate Center in Memphis, Tenn. The center will lead the effort to assist employees who have been evacuated and displaced by Hurricane Katrina; * Harrah's properties in Tunica, Lake Charles and Bossier City transformed ballrooms, meeting space and other large areas into temporary relief shelters to support displaced employees and their immediate families; * Harrah's announced the establishment of the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund with an initial commitment of $1 million from the Harrah's Foundation. In addition, Harrah's nearly 100,000 employees around the country will be given an opportunity to directly assist their colleagues affected by this tragedy through donations via payroll deductions; and * The public can assist Harrah's employees by visiting the company's Web site -- http://www.harrahs.com/ -- for additional information on how to help.
As more definitive news and damage assessments become available, Harrah's will take additional steps to bolster relief efforts for its employees, and actively participate in the rebuilding of these vital communities. For more information, please visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/harrahs/22667/.
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