AT&T Loses Religious Discrimination Lawsuit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission yesterday announced a $756,000 verdict in a religious discrimination lawsuit in federal district court in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The jury ordered AT&T to pay two Jehovah's Witnesses back pay and compensatory damages for violating Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. AT&T suspended and then fired two customer service technicians for taking one day off work to attend a week-end long religious convention. The employees, whose religious beliefs required them to attend the convention, had submitted written requests to their manager for permission to attend.