Borgata Babes Get Their Day in Court

On May 20, 2019, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged the Personal Appearance Policy implemented by the Borgata Casino and Hotel on their female waitstaff. These Borgata servers became known as the Borgata Babes and the lawsuit was originally brought in 2013, after the Casino required them to meet personal appearance standards in order to be a part of the staff. These standards included controlling how much each individual staff member weighed. The lawsuit claimed that by doing so, the women were subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender, in the workplace.

The Appellate Division made clear in 2015 that personal appearance standards are not discriminatory per se. Despite this ruling, several Borgata Babes alleged they were subjected to discriminatory comments and discriminatory enforcement of the personal appearance standards due to medical conditions and pregnancy. The allegations in the lawsuit included comments allegedly made to certain women who put on weight due to medical conditions and pregnancy.

This is an interesting case to follow. Let’s see what the jury says about these allegations in the future.