Ex-servers sue Resorts Casino over flapper costumes

The scorned cocktail waitresses of Resorts Casino, who claim they were humiliated and fired when they couldn't fit into skimpy flapper costumes, now have a legal high-roller on their side.

Attorney Gloria Allred came to Atlantic City yesterday and announced an age-discrimination lawsuit against the city's first casino on behalf of nine veteran cocktail servers who were laid off in March for not meeting its Roaring '20s "uniform standards."

"There was prohibition of alcohol in the '20s, but in 2011 there is prohibition against sex and age discrimination in order to assure equal employment for all," Allred, a Philadelphia native, said in a statement.

According to the complaint, the women were asked to audition and pose before a panel of judges last year. Many of the older women asked for specific sizes - 6, 8 and 10 - but were all given costumes one or two sizes smaller, the suit says. Some of them weren't allowed to wear bras, the complaint alleges, and were forced to pose in ways that would "overemphasize body fat." Younger women were not treated the same during the auditions, the complaint alleges.

A Resorts spokeswoman said the company offered all the servers who lost their jobs other positions at the casino and was confident it met "all legal requirements in its employment decisions."