Thursday, Dec. 18, 1997 | 11:15 a.m.
Attorneys for two cocktail waitresses said today they are joining the federal government in a lawsuit against the Imperial Palace, alleging the hotel-casino discriminates against pregnant employees.
Jennifer Jones and Pilar Martinez, both employees of the Imperial Palace, were to file motions to intervene in a class-action suit that was filed Sept. 29 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The federal agency claims Imperial Palace has a policy of moving cocktail waitresses to lower-paying jobs once they become pregnant and no longer can fit into their skimpy costumes.
EEOC attorney Pamela Thompson said the suit covers women employees who were discriminated against during a period that extends from the present back to two years before the earliest violation was reported, which was June 5, 1996.
She said between 15 and 25 employees or former employees may be in the group.
EEOC Commissioner Paul Miller said the policy violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and forces women to choose between a career and a family.
"This is exactly the type of discrimination which EEOC is committed to opposing under the law," said Miller.
He said the lawsuit will have a "significant impact" on the lives of working wives and mothers throughout the casino industry.
"In answering the allegations of the pregnant waitresses, the Imperial Palace asserted that it was not doing anything wrong even though its rules force mothers out of their jobs just because they are pregnant," noted Thompson. "The Imperial Palace insisted that it could force pregnant waitresses out of their jobs because, it said, they were "no longer sexy due to their pregnancies."
Imperial Palace did not return a telephone call.
In a prepared statement, Miller said the assumptions and stereotypes about pregnant cocktail waitresses were prevalent nearly 25 years ago about flight attendants.
Miller noted that the policy in the airline industry was that flight attendants had to be young, perky women with sex appeal.
"We now all recognize that such stereotypes have no place in the airline industry," said Miller.
According to Miller the Imperial Palace says it must remove pregnant cocktail servers from their job to remain competitive with other casinos.
"Other successful casinos, however, permit their cocktail servers to wear maternity uniforms and apparently have no problem maintaining the glamorous nature of their business," said Miller.
Richard Segerblom, attorney for Martinez, said the suit by the EEOC is an important one.
"Many women in this situation do not have the resources to take on the casinos," said Segerblom.
Nancy Killeen, attorney for Jones, said they will ask for punitive damages, compensatory damages and compensation for the wages lost due to the change in jobs.
Federal law prohibits employers from "discriminating or treating someone differently because of their gender or because of a condition such as pregnancy and that's what the Imperial Palace has done -- mandated that if you get pregnant you cannot continue with your job until you are no longer pregnant," said Killeen.
Jones was forced out of her waitress job on June 5, 1996 and Martinez was forced out Oct. 4, 1996.
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