AT&T Receives 2014 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award
For nearly 100 years, AT&T has supported active military personnel, veterans and their families. Today the Department of Defense announced AT&T is one of 15 recipients of the 2014 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The award is the Department of Defense’s highest recognition given to employers for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees.
See the full list of award recipients.
This year’s recipients were selected from 2,864 nominations received from Guardsmen and Reservists for going far beyond what the federal law requires to support their military employees. AT&T received several employee nominations, including one from Julia Hein, senior project manager at AT&T and U.S. Coast Guard Captain. Julia has been deployed several times in the past 16 years with AT&T, and was deployed again earlier this month. Read about more of our employee heroes in our blog.
AT&T consistently ranks as a great place to work for employees who are balancing both military and civilian careers. In addition to the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, AT&T has recently received other awards from ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve), including:
- 2014 Pro Patria Award - Recognizes employers at the state level that demonstrate the greatest support to Guard and Reserve employees through leadership and practices, including adopting personnel policies that make it easier for employees to participate in the National Guard and Reserves. This award was received from the Texas Committee for ESGR.
- Patriot Award - Recognizes local managers and first-level supervisors who support Citizen Warriors through a wide-range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence if needed.
- Above and Beyond Award - Acknowledges employers on a local level who have gone above and beyond the legal requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by providing their Guard and Reserve employees additional, non-mandated benefits such as differential or full pay to offset lost wages, extended health benefits, and other similar benefits.
To learn more about AT&T’s mission to hire the best talent and more, view our military careers website and media kit.
