A Black woman who worked at AT&T for over three decades says she was fired from her job after reporting a racist and alarming threat made against her.
Now, she’s suing after accusing the company of illegal discrimination and retaliation, according to the lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
Stacey Fowler, 53, held a senior position at AT&T Ohio following her recent termination. The lawsuit was filed in late September against AT&T Inc., AT&T Midwest, and Ohio Bell Telephone Company.
Fowler served as an employee at AT&T Ohio’s Construction and Engineering Department for more than 32 years, according to the filing. In 2021, she was promoted to Director of Access — which the lawsuit noted is a white, male-dominated department — and received positive performance reviews throughout her career.
On March 30, 2023, when Fowler returned to her office after spending hours in meetings with area managers, she found an offensive note with her business card stapled to it, the complaint said.
“YOU STUPID NI***R BITCH. IF WE CAN’T TAKE YOU DOWN WILL TAKE YOU OUT,” the letter said, a photo in the lawsuit shows. Her job title was also scratched out on the business card.
According to the complaint, Fowler contacted her supervisor and the company’s asset protection unit to report the threat. She was instructed to work from home amid an investigation and to file a police report, which she completed on April 1. However, it took weeks before she heard back from the team.
On April 11, she was informed by an investigator that he collected three witness statements and tipped off about the employee who potentially wrote the note. He also told her to sign a formal document relating to her claim. Days later, she was called into a meeting and fired based on a separate reverse discrimination investigation.
“Rather than hold a single person responsible for this cowardly racist act, AT&T protected the racists, fulfilled their wishes,…
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