ATLANTIC CITY A group of cocktail servers who were fired by Resorts Casino Hotel have hired celebrity attorney Gloria Allred to represent them in an age discrimination lawsuit.
Nine middle-aged former servers claim they were fired in March to make way for younger, sexier women who would look good in skimpy costumes. The lawsuit filed this week in New Jersey state court joins two similar lawsuits filed in March against Resorts, Press of Atlantic City reports.
Los Angeles attorney Allred—famous for taking on high-profile lawsuits involving women’s rights issues—says the women were fired because they did not meet the image that new Resorts owner Dennis Gomes considers to be the “ideal feminine body type.”
“We allege in our lawsuit that the defendants, including Dennis Gomes, undertook a plan to change the makeup of the group of female cocktail servers to ensure that as a group the cocktail servers were younger, slimmer, sexier and more conforming to a stereotype of feminine beauty,” Allred said during a Tuesday press conference outside the resort.
In a statement, Resorts denies wrongdoing and defends its personnel practices.
“Resorts is confident that it has acted in accordance with all legal requirements in its employment decisions,” the statement says. “As we indicated before, 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. Some took advantage of this offer and some did not.”