DENVER--A court victory for a Colorado man fired by AT&T could set a precedent for the rights of Christian employees in the workplace, according to Agape Press.

A federal judge awarded nearly $150,000 to the man who was fired by AT&T Broadband for refusing to sign a diversity policy requiring him to value the beliefs of others, including homosexuals. Judge Marcia S. Krieger of the U.S. District Court in Colorado directed the company to recompense former employee Albert Buonanno of Denver for lost salary, 401k matching contributions, and emotional distress.

Although the judge did not find AT&T Broadband guilty of any direct religious discrimination against Buonanno, she did find that the company failed to show it could not have accommodated his religious beliefs without "undue hardship," as employers are required to do under the Civil Rights Act.

Associated Press reported that the judge, after hearing the arguments, agreed with Buonanno and his attorneys that his former employer "could not require him to value the behavior and beliefs of others -- notably homosexuality -- if doing so violated his own Christian beliefs."

In 2001 Buonanno, who had been with the telecommunications company nearly two years, objected to the language of a directive in its newly issued employee handbook. It required all employees to "fully recognize, respect and value the differences among all of us," including differences in sexual orientation.

Buonanno said he was willing to pledge not to discriminate against or harass anyone, but he felt that he could not in good conscience sign the "certificate of understanding" agreeing with the new policy. As a result, he was fired. The former employee chose to sue because he feels a company should be able to expect certain behavior from its employees, but should not be able to force its beliefs on them.

"Buonanno said that as a Christian he loves and appreciates all people, regardless of their lifestyle," an AP report notes, "but he says he cannot value homosexuality and any other different religious beliefs. That was one of his main concerns and the reason he refused to sign the diversity pledge that AT&T Broadband had asked him to."

Although this case was related to corporate "sensitivity training," in many ways the court's ruling suggests that here the corporation failed to show adequate sensitivity to its Christian worker.

A spokesman from Comcast, which now owns AT&T, told the Washington Times the company is disappointed with the ruling and may appeal. Comcast officials feel the decision ignores companies' efforts to "foster diversity and nondiscrimination in the workplace."

Whitehead says he expects to see more challenges to the so-called "sensitivity training" that many companies require their workers to undergo or commit to in order to create a work environment where diversity is accepted and valued.