The EEOC recently 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 awarded the two former employees $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. 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.
