As many of you know, I retired from AT&T in 2008 and have been trying to find a job. I apply and apply and cannot seem to get a call back. I’ve even tried to get rehired at AT&T. I have been wondering why this is happening and after reading the following article I think I may have found the answer.
By Jonathan Stempel — Thursday August 20th 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued AT&T Inc on Thursday, accusing the nation’s largest phone company of discriminating against workers over 40.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the EEOC said Dallas-based 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.
The EEOC said tens of thousands of retirees covered by the programs, including a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program and an Enhanced Pension and Retirement Program, are harmed by the policy, which it said took effect in October 2006.
“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.”
Graziano said that for many years prior to 2006, the programs let retirees reapply for jobs after a six-month waiting period. The current AT&T was created in 2005 when SBC Communications Inc bought what had been AT&T Corp.
Marty Richter, an AT&T spokesman, declined to comment on the lawsuit. He said the phone company makes diversity a top priority, and that discrimination of any sort, including on the basis of age, “is not tolerated.”
AT&T employs 294,600 people, according to its website.
The EEOC is seeking the rehiring of and payment of back wages to affected employees, an injunction against further discrimination, and other remedies.
It brought the case on behalf of John Yates, who was 57 years old when AT&T turned him down for employment.
Yates could not immediately be reached for comment.
The EEOC filed a similar federal case in Missouri against a unit of the insurer Allstate Corp in 2004. That case is still ongoing.
Now my wife showed me the article when I went to visit her for lunch last week and I started to do some investigating. Another website I found information at was Lawmemo.com and it contained the EEOC’s press release wich follows:
EEOC v. At&T class action for age discrimination
August 20, 2009 by Ross Runkel at LawMemoToday EEOC filed a class action suit against AT&T, Inc. and a number of its subsidiaries alleging age discrimination.
The basic claim: AT&T discriminated against a class of retired AT&T workers by denying them the ability for reemployment solely because they retired under early retirement plans including the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP), the Enhanced Pension and Retirement Program (EPR) or other retirement plan.
The EEOC press release:
NEW YORK – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against AT&T, Inc. and a number of its subsidiaries, the agency announced today. The EEOC charged that AT&T discriminated against a class of retired AT&T workers by denying them the ability for reemployment solely because they retired under early retirement plans including the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP), the Enhanced Pension and Retirement Program (EPR) or other retirement plan. The effect of this denial of reemployment results in a disproportionate number of older workers not having the same opportunity to apply for reemployment, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Case No. 09 Civ 7323, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, John Yates, who filed the discrimination charge with the EEOC, and a class of other retired AT&T workers, are denied reemployment because they had participated in the VRIP, EPR or other retirement program. Yates and all other retirees who are age 40 or older are protected by law from discrimination because of their age. The result of AT&T’s policy is to exclude this class of older workers because of their age from being reemployed by AT&T regardless of their qualifications. This violation has been ongoing since at least October 1, 2006, the EEOC said.
“We’ve been taking a new and hard look at age discrimination recently, and we’re intent on enforcing the ADEA strategically and vigorously,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “This particular case highlights the Commission’s commitment to combating age-based disparate impact discrimination.”
EEOC Trial Attorney Louis Graziano said, “Federal law prohibits employers from instituting policies that adversely affect workers because of their age. AT&T’s policy has that effect.”
EEOC New York District Director Spencer H. Lewis added, “All employees, regardless of their age, should be permitted to complete for jobs equally. That is the fundamental right that the ADEA grants to older workers. We hope this lawsuit sends a message to such employers that the EEOC will seek relief when it finds the law has been violated.”
According to company information, Dallas-based AT&T is the largest telecommunications company in the world by revenue, with more than $124 billion in 2008.
In July of this year the EEOC held a public hearing on recent developments in age discrimination, including the effect on older workers of widespread layoffs, threats to employee benefits and controversial recent court decisions. The Commission also issued a technical assistance document on waivers of discrimination claims as part of severance agreements. Further information is available at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/7-15-09.html and http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_severance-agreements.html.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
A copy of the filing can be downloaded here.
