AT&T Inc. must pay $756,000 to two former technicians who were denied time off to attend a Jehovah’s Witness meeting, a federal jury in Arkansas decided.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued AT&T last year, claiming the San Antonio-based company denied Glenn Owen and Jose Gonzalez a “reasonable accommodation” of their religious beliefs when it fired them after they asked to attend a Jehovah’s Witness convention in Little Rock, Ark.
The two men had “sincerely held religious beliefs” and had attended the convention previously, according to the EEOC complaint.
The verdict, delivered Oct. 19, was entered Monday, according to the court docket.
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal,” said AT&T spokesman Dave Pacholczyk.