BALTIMORE, MD. (December 19, 2012) – Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development announced Board of Estimates approval of a “local jobs” Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CBAC (Caesars Entertainment) in conjunction with the construction of a new Caesars Horseshoe Casino in South Baltimore. The MOU is a requirement of a recently approved land disposition agreement to promote the hiring of Baltimore City residents to fill the new jobs created at the Casino and for monitoring compliance with the MOU and Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s Employ Baltimore Executive Order.

The MOU reflects Caesars’ commitment to working collaboratively with the City to implement a comprehensive community recruitment and hiring plan designed to fully inform Baltimore City residents about the employment opportunities this project will create, to prepare them to qualify for these jobs, and to prioritize the hiring of City applicants. The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), Baltimore City’s primary workforce development agency, will serve as the City’s lead entity for coordinating this local hiring project with Caesars.

“When the city’s casino officially begins construction, the biggest winners should be the many city residents who will receive job opportunities at Baltimore’s newest attraction,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “Today’s agreement between Caesars and the City puts in place a local hiring plan that will generate a significant benefit for residents and our communities. We thank Karen Sitnick and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development for developing this agreement.” Several key aspects of the MOU include:

• A  community recruitment coordinator, funded by Caesars, will join MOED’s Business Services Division to staff the casino’s local hiring initiative. This position will leverage the resources of MOED’s career centers and engage its broad  network of workforce development, faith-based , and community-based partners to  implement outreach workshops, provide  training and preparation curricula, and develop  easy access to the casino’s application and hiring process for city residents. The coordinator will also aggressively market qualified city residents to Caesars’ contractors and subcontractors.
• Caesars will give priority to city residents who are qualified to fill its open jobs and will especially seek candidates who demonstrate a strong knowledge of and familiarity with Baltimore City culture, lifestyle, and amenities.
• Caesars will comply with the provisions of the mayor’s Employ Baltimore executive order and will direct its contractors and subcontractors to also comply with the requirements, which include  meeting with MOED Business Services staff within 2 weeks of contract awards; providing MOED with workforce plans that describe the  expected number of  job openings, listings of  job titles, and the related skills requirements; and  posting new jobs with MOED’s career centers for 7 days prior to publically advertising these jobs.
• Caesars and its contractors and subcontractors will be required to submit workforce reports to MOED reflecting the number of casino project employees who are city residents. These reports will be submitted every six months for the life of the lease agreement.