AT&T is facing a new lawsuit from four New York City public pension funds over claims that the company improperly blocked a shareholder vote tied to workforce diversity disclosures. The funds argue that the carrier firm refused to include their proposal on the ballot for its 2026 annual meeting. This prevented investors from voting on whether AT&T should publicly detail employee demographics.
New York Pension Funds files a lawsuit against AT&T for diversity denial
The New York Pension Funds have filed a lawsuit against AT&T in Manhattan federal court. The trial questions AT&T’s decision to exclude a proposal that would require disclosure of the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of its 133,000 employees. The fund argues that the investors have a legal right to consider such information, particularly as diversity reporting has become an important governance factor for such large firms.
As per the complaint, AT&T relied on a recent policy shift by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allows companies to omit shareholder proposals if they claim a reasonable basis for doing so. They further argue that SEC regulations do not justify blocking the vote. The funds say that the move causes irreparable harm by limiting shareholder participation. In the lawsuit, they are seeking a court order to prevent AT&T from distributing proxy materials that exclude the proposal.
The court could order AT&T to include a diversity profile in its report
The pension funds behind the lawsuit include the New York City Employees’ Retirement System. The funds represent several police officers, teachers, and other municipal workers. They claim AT&T previously disclosed its workforce breakdown publicly between 2021 and 2023. However, the tech giant suddenly stopped the disclosure in 2024 without making any public announcement. Noticeably, the company is said to be submitting the demographic data annually to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While the final judgment could take weeks and months to be delivered, it could shape how corporates like AT&T respond to shareholders’ demands in the future.
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