A former Black worker at AT&T, Stacey Fowler, has filed a lawsuit against the telecommunications company, alleging she was fired for reporting a racist threat she received.
The complaint accuses the company’s Midwest division and Ohio Bell Telephone Company, an AT&T subsidiary, of “abhorrent and shocking conduct.”
The Racist Threat
According to The Daily Beast, Fowler, a Black woman, was the most senior person after working over 30 years in AT&T’s Ohio office at the time of her firing.
She told the news site that the company was due to downsize and do a round of layoffs in February.
She had suggested it better if the managers did this layoff than her due to them knowing the work ethic of their employees better.
Fowler stated that some of the white people who were laid off took issue with her for their job losses.
The managers who let them go suggested they file a complaint alleging reverse discrimination, even though Black people were laid off, too.
According to the lawsuit, Fowler said she walked into her office in March and found a note under the door.
The note read, “YOU STUPID N—– B—CH. IF WE CAN’T TAKE YOU DOWN, WILL TAKE YOU OUT.”
Along with the note, Fowler’s business card was stapled to it with her job title scratched out, according to the lawsuit.
Fowler immediately reported the racist threat.
However, AT&T allegedly fired Fowler a few weeks later for violating a business code of conduct related to employee complaints filed against her in February.
“Then AT&T replaced Fowler with a white male. In doing so, AT&T made clear that it would go above and beyond to protect white males at the expense of minorities and females in general,” the lawsuit read.
Legal action
On September 28, launched a legal battle with AT&T, its Midwest division, and AT&T subsidiary Ohio Bell Telephone Company for their “abhorrent and shocking conduct. “
She accused the companies of discriminatory retaliation.
According to the suit, Fowler worked in the construction and engineering department, dominated by white men.
“AT&T talks a big game because it looks good on paper,” Fowler told The Daily Beast.
“They have all of this DEI training that’s mandatory… But beyond that, that’s not present practice.”
In a statement to The Daily Beast, an AT&T spokesperson wrote that the company was disgusted by the note allegedly left in Ms. Fowler’s office.
They also said Fowler’s accusation that the company fired her in retaliation was false.
“Ms Fowler was terminated after a thorough investigation revealed she violated company policy. We do not discriminate nor do we tolerate discrimination of any kind, including based on race or any other factor,” the statement read.
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