New York City waitresses sue employer

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NEW YORK, May 31 (UPI) -- Two former New York City waitresses, claiming sexual harassment and a forcible weighing on a scale, can sue their former employer, a court said.

The case of Kristen McRedmond and Alexandria Lipton against the Sutton Place Restaurant and Bar was allowed by the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court last week, ABC News reported Thursday.

Both were servers and bartenders at the restaurant from August 2004 until they were terminated in July 2006, their court filing said.

McRedmond, now a teacher, claims a manager, Neil Hanafy, made vulgar comments, touched her inappropriately, once lifted her onto a scale to determine what she weighed to settle a question by male co-workers and fired her, said her lawyer, Rosemarie Arnold.

Lipton, now an attorney, said Hanafy gave her weight-loss advice, touched her against her will and attempted to discuss pornographic movies with her, a court filing said.

Hanafy and the restaurant deny any wrongdoing, and said in a court filing the women were terminated for legitimate reasons.

McRedmond and Lipton are suing for sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, battery and a hostile work environment, and are also alleging retaliatory termination and unlawful imprisonment. They are demanding $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages, the complaint said.