AT&T TO PAY $756,000 FOR RELIGIOUS BIAS AGAINST JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

EEOC Wins Jury Verdict for Two Fired Customer Service Technicians

JONESBORO, Ark.  – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a  favorable jury verdict of $756,000 in a religious discrimination lawsuit  brought against AT&T Inc. on behalf of two male customer service  technicians who were suspended and fired for attending a Jehovah’s Witnesses  Convention.

The jury of nine women and three  men awarded the two former employees, Jose Gonzalez and Glenn Owen  (brothers-in-law), $296,000 in back pay and $460,000 in compensatory damages  under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  During the four-day trial, the jury heard evidence that both men had  submitted written requests to their manager in January 2005 for one day of  leave to attend a religious observance that was scheduled for Friday, July 15,  to Sunday, July 17, 2005. Both men  testified that they had sincerely held religious beliefs that required them to  attend the convention each year. Both men had attended the convention every  year throughout their employment with AT&T -- Gonzalez worked at the  company for more than eight years and Owen was employed there for nearly six  years.

Commenting on the case, in U.S.  District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Jonesboro Division (Case  No. 3:06-cv-00176), before Judge Leon Holmes, former employee Joe Gonzalez said,  “I am very pleased with the jury's verdict.”  Glenn Owen added, “I'm glad that the justice system works and that the  jury saw what was going on and corrected it.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act  of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination and requires employers to make  reasonable accommodations to employees’ and applicants’ sincerely held  religious beliefs as long as this does not pose an undue hardship.

“In this  case, AT&T forced Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Owen to choose between their  religion and their job,” said Faye A. Williams, regional attorney for the EEOC  Memphis District Office. “Title VII does  not require that an employee make that choice in order to maintain gainful  employment.”

EEOC  supervisory Trial Attorney William Cash, Jr., who tried the case with agency  attorney Darin Tuggle, said, “Protecting the rights of employees to be free  from religious discrimination is an important part of the EEOC’s mission.”

Religious  discrimination charge filings (allegations) reported to EEOC offices nationwide  have substantially increased from 1,388 in Fiscal Year 1992 to 2,541 in FY  2006. The EEOC enforces federal laws  prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.