To call out of a shift at MGM Resorts, report the absence before your scheduled start time through the Workday employee portal or your property’s attendance hotline, using your employee ID and selecting the absence reason that matches your situation. Every MGM property feeds call-outs into the same centralized Workday system that tracks attendance, leave balances, and payroll codes, so a properly submitted notification protects your record no matter which property you work at.1Workday. MGM Resorts Boosts Employee Retention with Workday The exact procedure varies slightly between properties and between union and non-union roles, so your department handbook or orientation materials take precedence over general guidance.
What to Have Ready Before You Report
Have this information in front of you before you log in or dial:
- Your employee ID, which appears on your pay stub and inside the Workday portal. The system uses it to pull up your schedule and attendance record.
- Your department and property. Large properties run separate scheduling teams for food and beverage, housekeeping, table games, hotel operations, and more, and the notification has to reach the right one.
- Your exact scheduled start time. The prompts ask for it specifically.
- The reason for the absence. The category you pick — illness, family emergency, personal — determines which payroll code applies, which decides whether the time comes out of sick leave, PTO, or unpaid absence.
If you’re unsure about your ID or your shift, log into Workday first. Your dashboard shows upcoming shifts, leave balances, and the personal details tied to your file.
Reporting Through Workday
Log in to Workday through the employee self-service site on desktop or mobile. Go to the absence or time-off section, select the type of leave, enter the date and shift you’ll miss, and confirm the reason. After you submit, the request lands on your manager’s dashboard. Save or screenshot the confirmation screen. If the absence is later marked incorrectly, that receipt is your evidence.
Reporting Through the Attendance Hotline
Some properties, and some departments within a property, use an automated phone system instead. Dial the property-specific hotline, enter your employee ID on the keypad, and follow the voice prompts to confirm your shift time and absence reason. The system logs the call and usually sends an automated confirmation to the email on your Workday profile. If that email doesn’t arrive within a reasonable window, follow up with your supervisor so there’s no gap in the record.
The hotline number isn’t published on MGM’s public website. Your HR office, break-room postings, or department scheduling coordinator can give it to you. Save it in your phone before you need it.
When to Call
Call as early as you can. Hospitality operations run on thin coverage, and the further ahead the scheduling team knows about a gap, the easier it is to fill. Calling five minutes before your shift, or after it starts, risks the absence being recorded as a late call or a no-call/no-show, both of which carry heavier consequences than a timely report.
Overnight employees should give even more lead time. Graveyard managers have a smaller relief pool than day-shift managers do, so an extra hour or two of notice matters more.
A text to your supervisor is a courtesy, not a substitute. If your property requires a Workday submission or a hotline call and you only sent a text, the official system has no record of your call-out.
Multi-Day Absences and Documentation
One missed shift is straightforward. A stretch of missed shifts is not. Once an absence runs beyond a few days, expect HR to ask for documentation, typically a note from a healthcare provider confirming you can’t work and giving an expected return date. The threshold that triggers a documentation request varies by property and by whether a collective bargaining agreement covers you, so check your handbook or ask HR.
If you know in advance you’ll be out for several days, contact your property’s Leave of Absence coordinator rather than filing an individual call-out each morning. Each day you miss may otherwise require its own submission. And when you’re ready to return from an extended medical absence, confirm with your supervisor or HR that your return-to-work status is cleared in the system before showing up. Some situations require a fitness-for-duty certification from your provider before you’re allowed back on the floor.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28P – Taking Leave from Work When You or Your Family Has a Health Condition
Paid Leave That Can Cover the Day
Most MGM properties are in Nevada, where state law requires private employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid leave. Under NRS 608.0197, employees accrue at least 0.01923 hours of paid leave for every hour worked, or roughly one hour of leave for every 52 hours on the clock, and can use it for any reason, including a sick day.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 608 – Compensation, Wages and Hours A few limits worth knowing:
- You can start using accrued leave on your 90th day of employment.4Nevada Labor Commissioner. AO SB 312 Paid Leave
- Your employer can cap usage at 40 hours per benefit year and limit carryover to 40 hours.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 608 – Compensation, Wages and Hours
- The employer can set a minimum block of leave use of up to four hours, so a one-hour partial call-out may not be an option.
- Hourly workers are paid at their regular rate.
Selecting the right category on your call-out matters here. Choosing “personal” when you’re actually sick can pull from PTO instead of sick leave, or the reverse. Pick the reason that matches reality.
MGM properties outside Nevada — including sites in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Michigan — follow their own state or local paid-leave laws, which vary in accrual and eligibility. MGM National Harbor, for example, tells eligible new hires they begin earning PTO from day one but cannot use it until they complete an introductory period.5MGM Resorts International. New Hire – MGM National Harbor Check with your property’s HR office for the rules that apply to you.
When FMLA Enters the Picture
For absences tied to a serious health condition, the birth or placement of a child, or caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, the Family and Medical Leave Act may entitle you to up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement To qualify, you need to have worked for MGM at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months, and work at a location with 50 or more MGM employees within a 75-mile radius.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions Given the size of MGM properties, the headcount condition is rarely a problem for resort-based employees.
FMLA leave is unpaid, but you can (and MGM may require you to) substitute accrued PTO, vacation, or sick time to keep receiving a paycheck for part of the absence. Your group health coverage continues on the same terms as if you were still working.8U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) FMLA is a separate process from a standard call-out; if you think you qualify, contact the Leave of Absence coordinator rather than relying on daily hotline calls.
If You’re a Union Employee
A large share of MGM’s workforce, particularly in Las Vegas, is represented by unions such as the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Bartenders Union Local 165. If you’re a union member, your collective bargaining agreement may contain attendance provisions that differ from the general handbook, including how call-outs are counted, whether a points-based attendance system applies, and what discipline follows repeated absences. Attendance-point protections were a visible issue in the most recent contract negotiations.9Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Agreement Reached Between Culinary, MGM, Caesars Resorts
If you’re not sure whether the handbook or your contract governs your attendance, ask your shop steward before absences start accumulating. The grievance process available through your union is a separate avenue from MGM’s standard HR review.