When a woman has a boyfriend or a husband who obsessively monitors her weight, her friends may worry. They might even see this man as the controlling partner he is and encourage her to kick him to the curb. But, if a woman’s employer is the one giving her grief about her weight, she can’t count on getting such support from New Jersey’s legal system, if a recently decided case is any indication.

Earlier this month, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge ruled that Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa can force cocktail waitresses to weigh-in at work–and suspend them if they get any heavier than the employer’s ideal woman.

The controversial ruling stems from a weight and sex discrimination lawsuit filed by 22 of the casino’s servers, endearingly dubbed “Borgata Babes.” The babes argued that Borgata subjects them to unfair employment requirements, including suspensions if they gain more than 7 percent of what they weighed when hired.

A judge has decided that the Borgata has a right to enforce its ‘once a babe, always a babe’ policy. The cocktail waitresses are, the judge explained, sex objects, and as such they can be expected to meet certain standards.

The trial judge wrote: “Plaintiffs cannot shed the label ‘babe’; they embraced it when they went to work for the Borgata.”

In fact, Borgata’s job description of a cocktail server describes the role as, “part fashion model, part beverage server, part charming host and hostess.”

On the surface, this ruling may make sense. These women accepted jobs that required them to dress scantily, and they knew that there would be weight standards. However, this ruling raises a number of troubling societal and public policy questions. If a casino can argue that the job of a cocktail server is best done by a beautiful woman, can an office employer say the same thing about his or her secretaries or receptionists? What is to stop “sexiness” or weight limits from being be added to many job descriptions?

Finally, is the only defense against this type of discrimination to walk away from the job offer? After all, the best way to avoid a controlling boyfriend may be to not go out with a jerk in the first place. Of course, in employment and relationships, things are not always so clear in the beginning.

The Appellate Division and Supreme Court of New Jersey may have the final word.

Source: Time, “Too Big to Cocktail? Judge Upholds Weight Discrimination in the Workplace,” Josh Sanburn, July 26, 2013