A group of cocktail waitresses in Atlantic City NJ have sued their employer for imposing strict beauty and weight requirements. The waitress lawsuit alleges Borgata Casino subjects female beverage servers to weigh-ins, and terminates those determined to be overweight.
Waitress lawyers named Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa as the lead defendant in the case. The Borgata is a luxury destination in Atlantic City which attracts thousands of loyal patrons with its sexy cocktail waitresses known as the Borgata Babes.
Borgata Babes Calendar in Waitress Lawsuit. Source: Press of Atlantic City
In its court filings, Borgata’s waitress lawyers acknowledged its employee handbook prohibits female servers from gaining more than 7% of their original body mass.
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Waitress Lawsuit Alleges Abusive Weight Requirements
Ordinarily, these employment restrictions would shock an employee and expose the employer to liability for abusive conduct.
In Borgata’s case however, the Casino has specifically hired the women as models. Accordingly, the New Jersey courts ruled in favor of the body-mass-index examinations conducted by the Casino management. This lower court ruling blocked the waitress lawsuit from going to trial.
Unsatisfied with the court ruling, 21 cocktail serving models have appealed the ruling and won a partial victory allowing their case to proceed.
The Appellate Division judges upheld sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims by 11 of the waitresses. The judges found that pregnant women and women with qualifying medical conditions can still sue Borgata for gender based harassment because of the impossibility of complying with the weight restrictions.
Waitress Lawyers Fee Paid by Employer
Employment litigation of this kind includes “fee shifting” provisions. This means that in addition to paying the prevailing employee’s damages, the employer must also pay the legal fees and costs incurred in the case. Experienced waitress lawyers can fully enforce an employees rights, provided the claim is filed in a timely manner.