Resorts Casino's Sexy, Short-Skirted Waitresses Cause A Backlash

The Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City has just been slapped with a discrimination lawsuit, after 16 cocktail waitresses lost their jobs.
In December, Casino Executive Dennis Gomes took over the Resorts and part of his new vision for the business was to introduce a 1920’s and 1930’s Prohibition type theme to the hotel.
Included in Gomes’ strategy to attract younger clientele was to change the cocktail waitresses’ uniform into a sexy, flapper-style outfit. However, 16 long-time employees of Resorts aged between 40 and 60 were then apparently told they did not fit the requirements of the new, skimpy costumes and were subsequently fired from their jobs.
In the meantime, the 40 or so new waitresses hired are nearly all in their 20’s and are considered by the casino as a better fit for the new costumes, which are backless, cut high up the thigh, and with fishnet stockings.
Initially, the middle-aged ladies were asked to model the costumes by management, who then took photos of them for examination. It wasn’t until later they were then told the bad news, and as one of the former employees, Terry Bruno explains:
“We thought they were taking these pictures to critique the uniform and try to get it to something that would look good on everybody and that wasn’t the case.”
Continuing the story, Kathryn Felici who had worked at the casino since it opened in 1978 then added: “I was brought up to the office and told I did not meet the requirements for the uniform and was let go.”
Consequently, Union officials have now become involved and the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City now finds itself hit with an age-discrimination lawsuit. Requested by the lawsuit is that the fired cocktail servers be reinstated on full wages, and that unspecified damages be paid.
As the matter continues, Resorts has so far defended its decision to fire the waitresses and issued a statement which stated:
“All cocktail servers were given individual consideration and the selection process was conducted in a fair and objective manner. We empathize with the cocktail servers who lost their jobs and gave them hiring preference in other open positions at Resorts.”