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Former Resorts Atlantic City Cocktail Waitresses Sue After Losing Jobs

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 06/01/11 11:04 pm | updated: 06/01/11 11:04 pm

Nine former cocktail waitresses have filed suit against their former employer Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. They were fired in March after Resorts underwent vast changes around the property implementing rebranding plans to liven up the aging property. Inspirations came from the HBO show "Boardwalk Empire" portraying prohibition era Atlantic City.

The women allege they were fired because they simply weren't sexy or young enough to wear the '20s flapper outfits that their employer wanted the cocktail waitress staff to don. Instead they were replaced with younger, slimmer, sexier girls that they themselves spent time training before they were fired.

The nine women have acquired the services of high-profile feminist lawyer Gloria Allred, who has attached herself to all sorts of celebrity cases in the courtroom and on TV/radio news programs.

The women, who are ages 49-66, have also worked at Resorts a varying number of years, though some since 1978 when the casino first opened, were all distraught over losing a job they held for so long. They felt left out after being longtime, loyal employees.

Along with the new girls, all waitresses were given an audition with the new uniforms. Photographs were taken in various poses and recommendations from a modeling agency were given to Resorts as to whom to keep.

Resorts said in a statement that they "acted in accordance with all legal requirements in its employment decisions."

"As we indicated before, cocktail servers were given individual consideration, and the selection process was conducted in a fair and objective manner," the statement read.

"...We empathize with the cocktail servers who lost their jobs and gave them hiring preference in other open positions at Resorts. Some took advantage of this offer and some did not."

We'll see how this lawsuit goes. Letting Allred in on the case seems to bring more spectacle than resolution, she just likes to get in front of the camera and hear herself. And although, it's tough they lost their jobs so suddenly after all their years of service, it seems there's more legal precedent against them. Cocktail waitress is not just a job of function, there is an entertainment value as well. It's a role that needs to be cast like an actress or a runway model, they need to fit the part and the wardrobe, someday you just get too old for the part.

"Maybe [Resorts' owners] think they can profit by using young women as bait to hook in young men to buy drinks, but it's wrong," said Allred, who encouraged casino patrons to take their business elsewhere. "Women are not just sex objects. They are real human beings."

You are right, Gloria, but it works. (besides the drink are free)

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