QuizLaw: No Fatties Allowed

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No Fatties Allowed

In New York City this week, Kristen McRedmond — an ex-waitress at an upscale restaurant — is suing her former employer for $15 million after her employer fired her for refusing to weigh in before her shift. According to the New York Post Sutton’s Place had instituted a practice of compelling its female waitresses to step on the scales before getting to work, though the restaurant didn’t require waiters to do so. McRedmond and another waitress, Alexandria Lipton, complained that the weigh-ins were a form of sexual harassment and that they were fired for complaining about it.

“They told me I needed to get on the scale,” said McRedmond. “I told them I’m not going to be part of your sick game.” She also reportedly resisted when one of the managers tried to pick her up and place her on the scale. According to the lawsuit, the waitresses further asserted that the managers kept a running spreadsheet tracking the individual weight on the waitresses and placed the results on a website that kept tabs on the weight of other female servers in the city. The lawyer for Sutton’s Place unsurprisingly denies the allegations.

As for the merits of the waitresses’ lawsuit: As I recall from an episode of The Practice many years back, as an at-will employee, employers are allowed to fire you for being overweight. However, since the managers did not insist that male servers weigh in before getting to work, the waitresses here sound as if they have a pretty strong sex discrimination suit, particularly if the allegation that a manager picked up a waitress and tried to force her onto a scale.

But then again, I probably wouldn’t rely on David E. Kelly when filing your lawsuits.