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| Image: Getty/TMZ.com |
AT&T Inc.
on Tuesday confirmed that it has fired Aaron Slator, a president who became the
subject of a US$100 million discrimination lawsuit for using his work phone to
send racially offensive images.
"There is no place for demeaning behavior within
AT&T and we regret the action was not taken earlier," the company
said.
The images in question were found on Slator's phone by
an assistant who was asked to transfer data to a new phone, according to the
lawsuit filed Monday by Knoyme King, a 50-year-old black woman who worked for
Slator, AP reports.
One of the images, apparently of an African child
dancing with the caption "It's Friday ..." followed by a term
offensive to African Americans, had been sent in a text describing it as an
"oldie but a goodie," the lawsuit said.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, names
as defendants Slator, the company, CEO Randall Stephenson, other executives and
board member Joyce Roche.
Slator was president of content and advertising sales,
managing its multibillion-dollar budget for content acquisition that is
consumed by subscribers of Dallas-based AT&T's U-verse TV service.
King's lawyer, Skip Miller, told The Associated Press
on Tuesday that the lawsuit will continue. He said the company failed to take
action earlier, despite the issue being brought to the attention of its board
of directors and human resources department.
"This is an AT&T problem, it's not just an
Aaron Slator problem," he said.
The
lawsuit alleges that King was passed over for promotions and given inferior
raises because of her race, that she was mistreated and that attempts were made
to have her leave the company. King has worked 30 years for AT&T and is
still employed there, Miller said.
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