HOUSTON — AT&T is facing a lawsuit filed by one of the company's technicians who is claiming the company has a pattern of denying "light duty" accommodations for its African American employees.
Robert Sanders filed a complaint Nov. 20 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against Southwestern Bell doing business as AT&T alleging violation of the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Texas Labor Code
Sanders began working for AT&T as a premises technician in Hollister on January 8, 2016. According to this complaint, he has been denied his requests for accommodations for "light duty" due to a back injury he received on May 3, 2017 and for his high blood pressure. Sanders claims he is being denied his accommodation requests because he is African American and alleges other African Americans at his job site have been denied or "forced into a protracted struggle" with the company's accommodation department. He claims that his fellow white or Hispanic employees do not have the same issues with accommodation requests.
Sanders seeks monetary relief of $450,000, interest, trial by jury and other just relief. He is represented by H. Frachtman in Houston.
Houston Division for the Southern District of Texas case number 4:19-CV-04561