Q. I took a job as a bikini-clad barista thinking it would be a lark. It’s not. Mosquitoes bite every square inch unless I drown myself in Deet and 
guys get out of their truck and get way too close to “see what you got up close and personal.”
The job, however, was the only one I could get that lets me keep my class schedule and also the tips are great. I went to the owner and asked if I could cover up, at least when the customers are fewer, and he said bikinis were what brought the customers in. We argued and then he fired me.
My professor said I should sue for sex harassment. True?
A. Clearly some of your customers sexually harassed you. Can you sue the owner, as he exposed you to the problem? Not if you took the job with your eyes wide open.
When 22 female cocktail servers sued Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for sex discrimination claiming that wearing skimpy, provocative costumes exposed them to humiliating treatment, they lost their case. According to Superior Court judge Nelson Johnson, the women knew what they were getting into when hired, given that they auditioned for the job wearing the revealing costumes and serving drinks to faux customers.
The servers also sued for weight discrimination, because the casino fired any server who gained more than 7 percent over what she weighed when hired unless she had a valid medical reason. Johnson dismissed this claim as well, stating the servers agreed to this requirement when hired.
Your best recourse? Get a job, potentially in a grocery store that can accommodate your class schedule, allows you to wear clothes and where you don’t have to swat mosquitoes.
Latest posts by Lynne Curry, Ph.d., SPHR (see all)
- Holidays: Paying for Parties, Job Searching, & Bonuses - November 29, 2023
- Workplace Conflict: Dueling Employees - July 3, 2023
- You Owe it to Yourself to Blow the Whistle: Washington - June 19, 2023
