A court has sparked outcry by ruling that an Atlantic City casino can force its celebrated cocktail waitresses – known as the Borgata Babes – to regulate their weight.
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“We can not read the (state law) to bar as discriminatory an employer’s appearance policy requiring an associate, representing a casino business to the public, must remain fit and within a stated weight range, such as required” by the law, said the ruling. Judge Lihotz said, “Some plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to demonstrate that the PAS weight standards were enforced in a harassing manner against women because of their gender, creating a hostile work environment”.
But while this week’s ruling determined the casino’s personal appearance standards to be legal, the three-member appeals panel said a lower court must revisit part of the suit that concerns claims or harassment. Twenty-one Borgata Babes filed a lawsuit against the casino, claiming that 11 of their co-workers were treated unfairly by casino bosses because of their weight, reports the Daily Mail.
“We have long held that Borgata’s personal appearance policy is fair and reasonable”, he told the AP. He adds that the rules regarding weight gain or loss are divulged to and agreed upon by all “costumed beverage servers” at the time they are hired.
According to the casino, two employees, who are literally referred to as Borgata Babes, have been fired over the years for violating the policy.
“Sexual objectification has been institutionalized and is being allowed to stand”, attorney Deborah Mains told the Associated Press. Their uniform includes high heels, stockings and corsets.
The casino’s workplace policy prohibits the waitresses from gaining or losing more than 7 per cent of their body weight: one was fired for gaining too much weight while another was let go for losing too much. The casino even produces a Borgata Babes calendar that is one of its top-selling items each year.
Mains said the servers have been subjected to comments from supervisors asking whether they’re pregnant or getting fat, and other co-workers snorting at them like pigs.
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