AT&T To Pay $756,000 For Religious Bias Against Jehovah's Witnesses

[Antonio L .Santana]

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.