Borgata Babes

 

An Atlantic City casino has roiled the women’s rights waters by insisting that their cocktail waitresses keep their figures. Under a new policy announced last week, they are threatening to fire servers, both men and women, who gain more than seven percent of their current weight. They will allow the employees up to three months to lose the extra weight and are also offering exceptions for pregnancy or medical conditions. As expected, the new standards upset the usual suspects who raced to the nearest microphone to denounce the plan.

The Borgata casino has succeeded by dressing their employees to advantage and promoting their Borgata Babes; they insist that their new policy is perfectly legal. But public opprobrium aside, why shouldn’t they be allowed to hire sexy looking people to attract business?

It’s not fair to hire and fire on the basis of issues that aren’t pertinent to the employment. It shouldn’t matter a whit what a person’s religion or ethnicity or sexual inclinations are if they don’t affect his work, but many jobs have specific requirements. You probably don’t want a 95-pound weakling working on the loading dock. A 250-pound jockey ain’t gonna win a lotta races.

But over the past couple of decades we’ve gotten ourselves in a situation where common sense is being trumped by political correctness gone wild. Why isn’t it reasonable when hiring people who are going to interface with the general public that those people present attractively? I’m not talking sexpots, but clean, decently-attired, gracious individuals who will provide efficient service.

When you go to a restaurant, you don’t want to see a waiter whose face is covered with acne or whose hair is filthy? Surely it is not unreasonable to require that a receptionist speak intelligibly to customers who come through your door. If you’re operating an airline, you should be allowed to engage flight attendants who won’t get stuck in the narrow aisles.

The bottom line, if you will, is that the employees -- current and potential -- know what’s expected of them; that keeping their shape is part of the job. If the casino is selling with sex, as do most who are advertising on television these day, why shouldn’t they be allowed to keep an eye on their decor? After all, that’s what attracts the customers who are paying everyone’s salaries.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.

 

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