§47-20-12a. Compensation of bingo operator; number of employees.
(a) Within the guidelines set forth in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section, a licensee may pay a salary, the minimum of which is the federal minimum wage and the maximum of which is not more than one hundred and twenty percent of the state minimum wage to operators of bingo games who are either:
(1) Active members of the licensee organization and who have been active members in good standing for at least two years prior to the date of filing of the application for a charitable bingo license or the most recent filing of an application for renewal of the license; or
(2) Employees of the licensee organization or its authorized auxiliary organization who are:
(A) Residents of this state;
(B) Residents of a state bordering this state if the county of his or her residence is contiguous to the county in this state in which the bingo operation is conducted; or
(C) Residents of a bordering state who reside within thirty-five miles of the county in which the bingo operation is conducted.
(b) If the licensee's gross receipts from bingo occasions equal or exceed $100,000 for the licensee's most recently filed annual financial report, a salary may be paid to not more than eight operators.
(c) If the licensee's gross receipts from bingo occasions are less than $100,000, but equal or exceed $50,000 for the licensee's most recently filed annual financial report, a salary may be paid to not more than five operators.
(d) If the licensee's gross receipts from bingo occasions are less than $50,000 for the licensee's most recently filed annual financial report, a salary may be paid to not more than three operators.
(e) If the licensee also possesses a super bingo license, it may pay a salary to not more than fifteen operators during the super bingo occasion.
(f) In the case of a licensee lawfully holding a charitable bingo occasion simultaneously with a charitable raffle occasion, the number of paid charitable bingo operator employees allowed under this limitation for bingo licensees is in addition to the number of charitable raffle operator employees allowed under section fifteen, article twenty-one of this chapter. Licensees holding simultaneous occasions shall pay bingo operators from the proceeds of bingo operations and shall pay raffle operators from the proceeds of raffle operations and the charitable bingo fund and the charitable raffle fund and payments from the funds may not be commingled.
(g) For purposes of the limitations set forth in this section, the term "operator" or "bingo operator" or "raffle operator" does not include concession stand workers. Wages paid to concession workers may not exceed more than one hundred and twenty percent of the state minimum wage.
