AT&T Federal Funds Receipt Backs Job Bias Suit, Court Recommends

A worker who allegedly couldn’t pass an AT&T Mobility Services LLC sales training program because of his autism should be permitted to sue under a law covering federal-funds recipients, a magistrate judge decided.

The disability discrimination statute at issue in Benjamin Blunt’s lawsuit governs federal employment but also supports claims by private-sector workers for “programs” that receive federal funding. The report and recommendation cited the purported receipt by the unit of the telecommunications giant of “the type of federal financial assistance that qualifies” under the Rehabilitation Act.

Blunt alleges AT&T Mobility receives millions of dollars from the Department of Homeland ...