AT&T Beats Discrimination Appeal Over Conditional Layoff

AT&T Inc. defeated age and disability discrimination claims by a longtime employee with epilepsy and breast cancer when the Third Circuit ruled Friday that the employee’s selection for potential termination was part of a neutral reduction in force.

Kathleen Fowler, a 30-year AT&T veteran, accused the telecommunications company of employment discrimination when it selected her for “surplus status” in 2016, which required her to find a new job within the company or face termination within 60 days. But AT&T provided “powerful evidence” that this was done in connection with a planned reorganization and reduction in Fowler’s business unit, the U.S. ...