EEOC Sues AT&T / Bellsouth for Disability Discrimination

Federal Agency Charges That Telephone Giant Discriminated Against Employees with Disabilities Because of Their Weight

NEW ORLEANS – Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC, doing business as AT&T, violated federal law when it reassigned or terminated employees because they exceeded a weight limit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company violated federal law by implementing a strictly enforced 275-pound weight limit for its field employees, which tended to screen out employees with Class III obesity. Because of the policy, AT&T reassigned or terminated employees with disabilities, including an employee who had successfully performed his job since 1979.

Such alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which forbids discrimination against a qualified individual because of a physical or mental impairment.

The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC, doing business as AT&T), Civil Action No. 25-cv-00137, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

“No qualified individual should be fired because of an unjustified and inflexible weight limit,” said Michael Kirkland, director of the EEOC’s New Orleans Field Office.

Peter Theis, a senior trial attorney for the EEOC’s New Orleans Field Office, said, “Blanket weight limits that tend to screen out employees with disabilities, applied without regard to the specific skills or physical requirements of a job, are unlawful.”

The EEOC’s New Orleans Field Office is part of the Houston District Office, which covers Louisiana and parts of Texas.

For more information on disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.