No Tall Tale: Did Cocktail Waitresses Get Canned for Being Too Short?

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The Standard Hotel in NYC

StandardHotels.com

Lounges are notably judgmental when it comes to their clientele, but now a popular New York night spot must stand up to discrimination charges from former employees.

Faye Rex and Stephanie Jaggers are suing The Standard hotel in New York, claiming they were fired because of their height. The two used to work at the Top of the Standard lounge and say all their evaluations were more than positive until last summer, when both women were suddenly rated as “not up to par” – which they’ve taken to mean “not up to height.”

(More on TIME.com: See the top 10 oddball celebrity lawsuits)

According to the New York Daily News, Rex says she’s 5-foot-4 and 125 pounds, and Jagger’s lawyer says she’s about the same height. This was just too short for management, who allegedly only wanted “women who appear to be willowy, svelte and statuesque runway models,” the lawsuit reads. “They’re beautiful women, but they’re not tall and that, apparently, is a big crime,” their lawyer, Richard Roth, told the Daily News.

The male servers didn’t face any superficial weeding-out process, according to the women. They’re charging the hotel with gender discrimination. Perhaps the lawsuit will help break The Standard of its alleged height standard.

(More on TIME.com: See 10 things to do in New York in 24 hours.)