February 19, 2005

• Hey, at least they have a union. Showgirls are probably fired on the spot if they gain a couple of pounds.
• Oh no. Are we becoming weight obsessed here? *munchies*
• It seems like an employer in the US has fairly broad leeway in making restrictions on whom they can hire/fire. Many employees in the technology industry are employed on an "at-will" basis, meaning that either the employee or the employer can terminate the employer-employee relationship at any time and without reason. I've often wondered how a wrongful termination suit would play in this case (probably not very well). Nevertheless, discriminatory factors seem to be allowed as long as they have a direct effect on the execution of job functions. It seems that the casinos are trying to classify all of their employees as "entertainers" to get around such limitations on their ability to discriminate based on appearance. I could have sworn we had a thread about it, but Harrah's Casino requires all their female employees to wear makeup. A bartender refused to comply and lost her job as a result. She sued and the last I'd heard was that the Nevada Supreme Court sided with Harrah's in the matter. The basis of the bartender's suit was based on the unfair burden the policy was placing on its female employees - full makeup wasn't required for male employees - but in this case the weight restrictions seem to be applied equally across the board. Personally, I think that the policy as stated is interesting - it's not being overweight per se, it's weight gain which is being disallowed. One solution: pig out enormously just before starting your job (a la Morgan Spurlock in SuperSize Me) or load up just before the new year's weigh-in to give yourself as much leeway as possible each year.
• Many employees in the technology industry are employed on an "at-will" basis Isn't "at-will" actually the default in all industries? Who's not at will besides unionized employees and executives, who typically have signed some contract to guarantee them millions of dollars when they are forced out? My home state of Michigan is apparently the only state to outlaw weight discrimination. They outlaw height discrimination too. I just realized now that I had a 7.5% weight increase over the holidays. It's not really that hard to do.
• My inner libertarian says it's hard to tell companies what's reasonable for their business. After having worked as a paralegal for an immigration lawyer for a few years, I have a real sense of how regulations and bureacracy can make it hard on companies just trying to do business. I don't know enough about what they're doing in the casino to know whether the staff are really entertainers for whom appearance standards make sense or not. (The 7.5% thing strikes me as harsh either way.) Having said all that, if I hop in the car and head down to Atlantic City, I'm going to be sure to waste my bananas at a different casino. Just because I'm not sure we should outlaw what the casino is doing doesn't mean I want to support it. I used to say rather snarkily that I'd feel a lot better about appearance regulations when they applied equally to men (cf ooga_booga's comment above). Now they do, and guess what? They still suck!
• Oh my God, we can't have this. Uh, oh, does this mean I have to quit my job becaue I ate too many brownies last month? Ohhhh nooooo!
• Well, bernockle... maybe some guys don't want to see strippers with a little meat on their bones, but I prefer the ample "real" girls... As for casino employees, I wonder if the 7% weight increase goes for CEOs and such
• This is the sort of policy where you really need to know whether it's going to enforced by bureaucratic idiots, or whether it was put down on paper out of a need to give guidance to employees and forestall some potential arguments. In other words for example, if someone starts going to the gym, puts on some muscle mass, and ends up looking better than they did before, are they still at serious risk of firing? I had a friend in the army who experienced that very situation.
• the new policy applies to anyone -- including male bartenders -- who gains more than 7 percent of their body weight Oh, the stupidity. People starting weight-training can gain that much muscle and bone mass in a few months and look *better* for it. At least take body fat percentage into consideration, for cryin' out loud.
• Note to self: use the Preview button.
• the new policy applies to anyone -- including male bartenders . . . Wouldn't "anyone" include male bartenders? Why to do they have to state specifically that it includes them? Would people otherwise think it would just apply to the women who worked there?
• Isn't it odd that the weight gain is okay if the woman is pregnant? So clearly just weighing more does not impact the performance of the job. It is weighing more without a good excuse that seems to be the sin here.
• It is weighing more without a good excuse that seems to be the sin here. Obviously if you gain weight without a good excuse, you're doing it just to hurt the casino. This is the only way casinos can protect themselves from malcontent employees.
• It's to keep employees away from the casino buffet, no doubt.
• I wonder how a hefty new set of 7.5% extra implants rate..."I'm sorry, but a Los Vegas cocktail waitress with really big tits just does not fit our image".
• Sorry for the derail, but I looked up the implants/increased weight thing and...this is something I did not know about tits. 2. Do breasts glow in the dark when flashlights are placed on them? If you stick flashlights under or on the sides of your breasts if you have saline implants they don't exactly glow but they do light up and cast an eerie glow. You will also see lots of veins as well all over your breasts. Natural breasts do not do this as the saline is what reflects the light and casts it all over the rest of the breast. If you do this with natural breasts it only appears the same as when you stick a flashlight up to your hand -- the tissue nearest casts a reddish glow, but not the whole breast. Silicone breast implants do this as well although not as bright as saline. By the way, be careful you don't burn yourself when trying this out.
• Great monyjane, now I kinda want to get breast implants.
• *buys flashlights*
• Who here will let us experiment on their breast implants? Come on, own up, we'll keep it totally anonymous.
• I want to be Eerie Glowing Tit Woman for hallowe'en. Duct tape on the flashlights, go topless, and paint black circles on your nipples so they look like Big Glowing Crazy Eyes! Then get sloshed and run about the streets, randomly screaming "I can see your souuuuul!" until they arrest you.
• MJ, I was drinking when I read that. Don't you go making me ruin my laptop! You'd have to put up pictures.
• Better yet, video. Pictures might not really capture the moment.
• Damn! Almost makes me wish I did have implants...be a great answer should you happen to go see a plastic surgeon who innocently asks why you want them. So almost worth getting blacklisted at every plastic surgery practice in the free world.
• You'll always be able to find a plastic surgeon to do it for ANY rrason; just come to BevHills.
• rrason? REASON. I don't know the meaning of the word... or the spelling.
• I can't believe that my thoughtful post has turned into people making completely unrelated, silly comments. I would never do that in a thread.
• I'd goddamn better see some weight on my bartender's bone.