Forced To Weigh In Before Work, Former Waitresses Sue Boss For $15 Million

Two former New York waitresses who were forced to weigh in before work will officially have their case taken to court where they will be suing their former boss for a total of $15 million. The charges include sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, battery and a hostile work environment.

Kristen McRedmond and Alexandria Lipton waited tables at the New York City Sutton Place Bar and Restaurant from August 2004 to July 2006 when they were both terminated.

McRedmond claims that while working at the New York City restaurant, nighttime shift manager Neil Hanafy repeatedly asked her how much she weighed, even attempting to pick her up and place her on a scale in front of other co-workers. McRedmond also claims that Hanafy often made vulgar comments and touched her inappropriately .

According to court documents and the waitresses attorney Rosemarie Arnold, she said that when she refused to get on a scale, “Hanafy attempted to pick her up and put her on the scale. Allegedly, after McRedmond broke free from his grasp, she was told that she could not leave the office until she got weighed. McRedmond did leave the office within 10 minutes, although she claims to have been hysterically crying and disoriented.”

In addition to the above charges, the two women are also charging for retaliatory termination and unlawful imprisonment.

McRedmond claimed “she was unlawfully imprisoned by Sutton Place when she was held in the manger’s office after Hanafy attempted to weigh her,” according to the court filing.

“This is an egregious case where disgusting men felt they could treat women in a demeaning manner, and it’s clear that every judge on the [New York] Supreme Court … and now the appellate decision affirms that’s not behavior that’s tolerated in the workplace,” said Arnold.

Lipton also claims that Hanafy repeatedly asked her weight as well, writing his guess on a notepad in addition to audibly giving Lipton and the other waitresses tips on how to lose weight.

The restaurant’s attorney, Joshua Mallin states that “Ultimately what this appellate court decided was there were too many issues of fact,” he said. “A jury will have to decide whether any of their claims are valid or whether, as the defendants contend, they completely have no basis in fact.”

Hanafy denies all accusations by the two women.

How do you feel about the charges that have been filed by the two waitresses? Is $15 million enough to compensate the two waitresses for the humiliation that they endured while at Sutton Place Bar and Restaurant?