The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued AT&T, reports Reuters. The EEOC accuses the phone company of discriminating against workers over 40, saying AT&T had “no legitimate business or reason” for its nationwide policy not to rehire employees who had retired under various retirement and severance programs. “From what AT&T has told us, there are in excess of 50,000 individuals subject to these plans,” said Louis Graziano, an EEOC lawyer handling the case, in an interview. “At most, very few people under 40 would be affected.” The EEOC wants those affected to be rehired and receive back wages, an injunction against further discrimination, and other remedies.
U.S. Sues AT&T for Age Discrimination
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued AT&T, accusing the company of discriminating against employees over 40.
August 20, 2009
Believe me I am a victim of this practice AT&T is doing. It is [preventing] myself and others who are over 40 or 50 years old from applying for jobs in telecom. AT&T is blocking us from working for them and for working for other contracting houses. Our names are tied to a “blacklist” that does not allow us to get a telecom job with AT&T or a contracting house that works on an AT&T contract. This amounts to about 90% of the jobs in our field of expertise. I applaud the EEOC and since law suits take
awhile if AT&T cannot tell us, the consumer, WHY they are doing this we should express our disappoint NOW to their inhumane practices by not selecting AT&T as our carrier. The same baby boomers AT&T no longer values are today’s consumers. I urge you to get the word out, demand an explanation, and find another supplier for telecom.