Connecticut Attorney General's Office
Press Release
Attorney General Seeks More Than $920,000 In Fines Against AT&T, Enforcement Of State Repair Standards
June 9, 2009
The DPUC last month tentatively found that AT&T has failed since 2001 to meet the state requirement that it fix 90 percent of broken phones within 24 hours. Instead of requiring AT&T to comply, the DPUC accepted the company's excuses and declined to impose any penalty.
Blumenthal today asked DPUC to reverse its draft ruling, enforcing its repair requirements and imposing a $10,000 penalty for each of the 92 times the company failed to submit compliance reports. In addition to $920,000 in penalties, Blumenthal called for fines for failing to meet the 90 percent repair standard.
Blumenthal also asked the DPUC to require AT&T to submit within 30 days a plan to come into compliance with the repair standard. The plan should specifically address whether AT&T has sufficient workers to meet the standard.
Blumenthal and the Communications Workers of America Local 1298 blame repeated AT&T layoffs for poor repair rates. Since 2000, AT&T home repair technicians have fallen by nearly half, from 1,089 to 569.Blumenthal said, "No wakeup call for AT&T -- not even a slap on the wrist -- is DPUC's proposed remedy against its lawbreaking. Instead of a real penalty, AT&T receives a pat on the head -- a mockery of rules intended to protect consumers. The DPUC must find AT&T has consistently failed to meet minimum service standards and impose serious and significant penalties to deter defiance of state laws. Since 2001, AT&T appallingly has missed the state's repair standard every single month.
"Tough repair standards are a matter of life and death for some citizens, such as seniors and the disabled, who regard a working phone as a vital lifeline. Failure to meet repair requirements endangers our most vulnerable citizens, potentially leaving them unable to call for help when they most need it. Public safety demands that DPUC swiftly and stringently enforce its repair standard," Blumenthal added.
CWA Local 1298 President Bill Henderson said, "The law is the law. We agree with the attorney general that no one is above the law and strongly support his effort to enforce state service standards. We're appalled the DPUC can find in favor of AT&T when it has gone eight years without meeting service requirements to the people of Connecticut. It's all about consumers. It's all about service. It's all about jobs. You can't get good service from Ohio, the Philippines or outside of the state of Connecticut, where AT&T has sent state jobs."