NEW YORK (AP) – The Hawaiian Tropic Zone restaurant in Times Square is hitting back at a woman who says she was denied a job as a bikini-clad barmaid because her speech was too “ghetto.”

Hawaiian Tropic’s lawyer James Rosenzweig asked a Manhattan judge Friday to dismiss 22-year-old Melody Morales’ discrimination lawsuit.

The lawyer says staffers are salespeople and employers have the right to deny employment to inarticulate speakers. He says they are not a class protected from discrimination.

Rosenzweig also says Morales’ photo has been in “escort” ads on the Web. Her lawyer, Derek Smith, says she is not a prostitute.

He says the case is legitimate because it has racial undertones.

Morales was born in Brooklyn to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents.

Justice Edward Lehner reserved decision.