AT&T settles New York City lawsuit, to let shareholders vote on diversity proposal

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) – AT&T has agreed to settle a lawsuit by four New York City public pension funds by letting shareholders vote on whether it should disclose the breakdown of its 133,000-person workforce by race, ethnicity and gender.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced the settlement on Wednesday, eight days after the funds sued to block AT&T from soliciting shareholder proxies that would have excluded their diversity proposal from consideration at its 2026 annual meeting.

AT&T, based in Dallas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment after market hours.

Hundreds of companies ask the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission each year for permission to leave shareholder proposals off ballots without fear of enforcement action, and have historically received permission about half the time.

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System, and funds representing police, teachers and other educational employees, said AT&T’s prior opposition to their proposal followed a November policy change by the SEC letting companies claim a “reasonable basis” to exclude shareholder proposals.

“Today’s settlement is a major win for investors amid ongoing attempts to undermine transparency and accountability,” Levine said in a statement. “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.”

Many companies have deemphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a crackdown on such efforts one day after beginning his second White House term.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)