Telecom Giant AT&T Reaches Deal with NYC Pension Funds Over Diversity Vote

AT&T has resolved a legal dispute with New York City pension funds by agreeing to allow shareholders to vote on a proposal requiring workforce diversity disclosure. The settlement comes after the pension funds sued to ensure their diversity proposal would be included in AT&T's 2026 annual shareholder meeting.

Telecommunications company AT&T has reached a settlement agreement with four New York City public pension funds, resolving a dispute over shareholder voting rights on workforce diversity disclosure.

The Dallas-based company will now allow its shareholders to vote on whether AT&T should publicly reveal demographic information about its 133,000 employees, including breakdowns by race, ethnicity, and gender.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine made the settlement announcement on Wednesday, just over a week after the pension funds filed legal action. The lawsuit aimed to prevent AT&T from excluding their diversity-focused proposal from the company’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting.

The pension funds involved include the New York City Employees’ Retirement System along with retirement funds for police officers, teachers, and other educational workers. These groups argued that AT&T’s resistance to their proposal came after the Securities and Exchange Commission changed its policies in November, making it easier for corporations to exclude shareholder proposals by claiming a “reasonable basis” for doing so.

“Today’s settlement is a major win for investors amid ongoing attempts to undermine transparency and accountability,” Levine stated. “AT&T shareholders will now have the responsibility to vote on our proposal that requests disclosure of clear and detailed data to help investors better assess its efforts to advance equal opportunity.”

AT&T has not yet provided a response to requests for comment following the settlement announcement.

The case highlights a broader trend where corporations frequently petition the SEC for permission to exclude shareholder proposals from voting ballots. Companies typically receive approval for such requests approximately half the time, with hundreds of these requests submitted annually.

This settlement occurs during a period when numerous corporations have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a federal crackdown on such programs shortly after beginning his second presidential term.