Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson ruled that the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa waitresses
can be fired for gaining weight.
The twenty-two waitresses, known as the "Borgata babes", brought the suit:
They argued that the casino viewed them as nothing but sex objects and were forced to endure frequent weigh-ins and were even suspended when they gained excessive weight, which could not be 7% more than their initial weight when they were hired. The court essentially told the cocktail waitresses that they knew what they were getting into by citing the application process for future “babes,” which stated that the positions were “part fashion model, part beverage server, part charming host and hostess. All impossibly lovely.” Judge Johnson also cited the fact that the casino’s “babes” signed statements agreeing to the 7% weight-gain policy.
From the judge's ruling:
“For the individual labeled a ‘babe’ to become a sex object requires that person’s participation and nothing before the court supports a finding of fraud, duress or coercion in connection with the plaintiffs’ hiring,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiffs cannot shed the label ‘babe’; they embraced it when they went to work for the Borgata.”
This isn't the first time the policy has been challenged. In 2005, former "Borgata Babes" Trisha Hart and Renee Gaud brought a
similar suit in 2005. That suit was
quietly settled:
That fact didn't escape the notice of former Borgata Babes Renee Gaud and Trisha Hart, who bought a $70 million lawsuit against the casino in 2006 over the same policy. Their case ended quietly with a confidential settlement two years later.
Can you imagine having to weigh in for your employer? This seems like a terrible precedent.