Blue Lake Casino sources said Friday that the group of fired blackjack dealers and a pit boss were let go because "certain incidents" committed against the casino were dangerous for business.

On Thursday, the Times-Standard reported that the employees fired en masse felt they were let go in retaliation for defecting to a new casino.

The former employees also said Blue Lake Casino asked for at least one-month advance notification of their departure to ensure ample time for finding replacements; and that the employees were promised in turn that they would be able continue employment through their end date. While she would not comment on what the incidents were, spokesperson Jana Ganion said only a couple of the nine fired employees were responsible for the incidents.

"This was absolutely not retaliation," she said. "The overall point is, we understood that these people were going to the competition and we respect their right to work wherever they choose."

Ganion acknowledged that there was an agreement to keep the employees through to their individual end dates. She also said Blue Lake Casino follows federal standards in respect to withholding pay. Because they are a sovereign nation and the casino is on tribal land, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act applies and the former employees don't have to be given their final paycheck until the next pay period. Ganion did say that occasionally exceptions are made and if those employees who were let go are interested, they can request to be paid sooner and those decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Bear River Casino Table Games Manager Joe Claus said he encouraged his new employees to give Blue Lake a longer lead time out of professional courtesy.

"Two of these people fired were in the middle of their shift on their last day of work," Claus said. "To embarrass them and escort them out by security, it was unnecessary."

Ganion admitted Blue Lake Casino intended to let the group continue to work until their last requested day.

"At the time we made those promises, and we did our best to uphold those requests," Ganion said. "But business impacts and needs indicated a change of course and we followed it accordingly."