A federal judge has awarded a Denver-area man $146,269 after AT&T Broadband fired him in 2001 for refusing on religious grounds to sign the cable company's diversity policy.
Albert A. Buonanno, 47, argued that Denver-based cable giant AT&T Broadband, since bought by Comcast Corp., could not require him to "value" the behavior and beliefs of others, notably homosexuals, if doing so violated his own Christian beliefs.
In addition, Buonanno said he could tolerate religions contrary to Christianity but not value them or hold them in esteem.
On Jan. 31, 2001, AT&T Broadband officials told Buonanno, a two-year employee, that he needed to sign the agreement or face losing his job. The diversity agreement was part of an AT&T Broadband employee handbook new at the time.
When Buonanno refused to sign, the company immediately fired him from his $44,261-a-year job as a dispatcher and quota specialist.
"As a Christian, I love and appreciate all people regardless of their lifestyle," Buonanno said Monday. "But I cannot value homosexuality and any different religious beliefs. That was one of my concerns."
Buonanno sued AT&T Broadband under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects employees from discrimination based on race, sex, religious beliefs, national ancestry or color.
A spokeswoman for Philadelphia-based Comcast had not seen the ruling and could not provide a comment on Monday. A trial was held in February in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Judge Marcia Krieger on Friday awarded Buonanno payment from AT&T Broadband for his lost wages, lost 401(k) contributions, emotional distress and interest. She denied his request for punitive damages. Her ruling, which became public Monday, focused more on AT&T Broadband's handling of Buonanno's firing than on the reasons for it.
"The court accepts AT&T's contention that allowing employees to strike piecemeal portions of the handbook of certification could pose an undue hardship on its business, making the uniform application of company policies much more difficult," Krieger wrote.
"Nevertheless, had AT&T gathered more information about Buonanno's concerns before terminating his employment, it may have discovered that ... it was possible to relieve that conflict with a reasonable accommodation."
Buonanno found another job at a Denver-area nonprofit in May 2001. Of his previous employer, he said, "I think AT&T should be able to expect certain behavior from people but not force their beliefs on people."
Krieger's ruling produced varying reactions from groups that monitor civil liberties.
John Hummel, legal director at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado's Legal Initiatives Project, could not comment on the specific merits of the case.
"I can say that, as a general rule, (the legal group) applauds employers like AT&T Broadband that adopt a policy of nondiscrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity," Hummel said.
The Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville, Va.-based nonprofit civil liberties group that worked on the case for Buonanno, called the issue "more than an objection to homosexuality."
"Employees shouldn't be forced to forswear their religious values in the name of tolerance," Rutherford president John Whitehead said in a statement distributed Monday. "This was just one case among many in which employees continue to be wrongfully denied accommodation and the right to freedom of conscience because of their religious beliefs."