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Workplace discrimination due to weight is not illegal. Last week, Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson granted summary judgment for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and dismissed a weight discrimination case brought by 22 cocktail waitresses known as the “Borgata Babes.”
The waitresses argued that the casino viewed them as sex objects who were forced to submit to weigh-ins and suspensions when they gained weight, which could not be 7 percent more than their hiring weight. The court reasoned that the waitresses 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.” The waitresses also signed statements agreeing to the 7 percent weight gain policy. Since New Jersey law does not outlaw weight discrimination and the judge found that the weight restriction did not constitute gender discrimination, the case was dismissed.
If you have any questions regarding discrimination law in New Jersey, please contact our NJ weight discrimination lawyers for a free consultation at 973-920-7888.