Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

What is the AT&T Employee Relief Fund (ERF)?

The ERF is a 501c3 public charity that was established so AT&T employees can help fellow employees who are experiencing significant personal hardships.

What qualifies as a significant personal hardship?

The ERF is designed to assist AT&T employees who experience a qualifying event or situation that leaves them unable to meet basic needs such as food, clothing shelter, or other necessities.

What is considered a qualifying event?

There are two categories of qualifying events:

Disaster events which include:

• Natural disasters
• Damage to primary residence

Personal hardship events which include:

• Extended illness or injury
• Unexpected death of a dependent
• Domestic Violence

What needs do the ERF grants help cover?

Eligible expenses include the following

• Shelter
• Food
• Clothing
• Utilities
• Other basic necessities
• In the case of home damage, the grant helps cover the cost of repairs

Who can Apply?

Any employee is eligible to apply if:

• They are actively employed at the time of the qualified event and grant payment
• The qualified event occurred within the last 6 months
• They are domestic or international employees

Where can employees go to apply?

Go to employeerelief.att.com.

Common Questions

Can I apply for assistance from the ERF if I'm an employee based outside of the U.S.? Yes.

Can my supervisor apply for me? Yes, someone else can apply on your behalf. Just make sure you approve it before it's submitted.

Am I eligible if my event occurred 2 months ago? Yes, as long as your event occurred within 6 months of when you applied. After 6 months, you won't be eligible for assistance.

My spouse and I both work for the Company; can we both apply for assistance? No, only 1 employee per household may apply.

My roommate and I both work for the Company; can we both apply for assistance? Yes, if assets are not shared between roommates, you both can apply.

What happens if I don't qualify? If you do not meet the ERF's eligibility criteria, every effort will be made to refer you to an alternate resource(s) for assistance.

Disaster Events

General Information

What qualifies as a disaster event?

• Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, etc.
• Disaster events causing damage to your primary residence, such as pipe burst, fire, etc.

What assistance does the ERF cover for disaster events?

Two types of assistance are available: short-term and long-term:

• Short-term assistance is for food, clothing, shelter, minor home repair, or other necessities that are needed right away.
• Long-term assistance is for homeowners who incur a total loss of their primary residence and need help with significant out-of-pocket expenses to rebuild.

Who is eligible for long-term assistance?

The ERF will send an invitation to apply for a long-term assistance grant if these requirements are met:

• Application for short-term assistance has been approved
• Your home was declared a total loss by the ERF as a result of a qualifying event.
• You own your home.

Common questions:

• Do I qualify if my vacation home experiences damage? No, it must be a primary residence.
• A relative experienced damage to their home, can I apply for assistance to help them? No, only AT&T employees are eligible for ERF assistance.
• Does the ERF cover evacuation expenses? If an evacuation is required, the ERF can assist with expenses associated with your evacuation.
• Can I apply twice? Generally, we do not allow applicants to apply twice for the same event, but if you applied for assistance for evacuation expense and were not able to return home to assess home damages, a second application is allowed for home repair. This does not guarantee funding.
• Do power outages qualify? Only for major disaster events that cause a power outage of 4+ days.

Personal Hardships

General Information

What qualifies as a personal hardship?

If an employee experiences a financial hardship due to a personal hardship event, the ERF can help with basic living expenses. The following events qualify under the personal hardship program:

• Illness/Injury (of employee or dependent)
• Unexpected death (of dependent)
• Domestic violence

Who is considered a dependent?

Anyone who the employee is financially responsible for. * That could mean any of the following:

• Spouse/domestic partner
• Children/step-children
• Parent/step-parent/in-law

*Documentation may be requested to prove dependency

Which basic living expenses do you generally help with in a personal hardship situation?

• Past due rent/mortgage
• Past due utilities (e.g. gas, water, electricity)
• Food

What are examples of expenses that do not qualify for financial assistance for personal hardships? (Please note the list below is not comprehensive but provides examples of expenses not covered).

• Adoption
• Legal/court fees, fines, bail
• Expenses associated w/ divorce or child custody issues
• Illegal behavior or situations that occur due to drug or alcohol use
• Debts/loans
• Medical expenses
• Car maintenance, repair, registration, etc.
• Lost wages due to missed time from work
• Bad debt/overdue bills from ongoing financial problems
• Car payments
• Phone bills
• Internet bills

Common Questions

I am on short-term disability or a leave of absence; would I be eligible to apply? The ERF reviews each situation on a case-by-case basis. You can be on an approved short-term disability and receive assistance.

I applied for and received assistance, but I am still behind on my bills, can I apply twice for the same situation? Only one application is allowed for the same situation.

I was in a car accident and lost my only means of transportation. Can I apply for help? The ERF does not assist with vehicle loss or repair unrelated to a natural disaster.

Other Common Questions

Approvals

How long does it take to process my application? It depends on when we receive it, and the review and approval process. Most grant payments are processed within 2 to 3 weeks. However, it may take longer depending on the volume of requests.

How will I know if my application is approved? We'll email you.

Payments

How much assistance will I receive? Grant amounts will be determined on a case-by-case basis, based on the number of employees who are impacted, the number of applications received, and the amount available in the Fund at the time of evaluation.

How will I receive my funds? If you live in the U.S. and have a direct deposit account set up with the AT&T payroll company, we'll deposit it into your account.
If you don't have a direct deposit account set up, we'll send a check to your work location.
For international employees: Banking information will be collected via a secure link and funds will be sent by electronic funds transfer processed by AP.

When will I receive my funds? For domestic employees, it usually takes about a week after it's approved. For international employees, due to the complexity of the payment process, it could take 2-3 weeks for the grant to be deposited.

Is this a loan? Do I have to pay it back? No, this isn't a loan. You do not have to pay the funds back.

Is the payment that I received from the ERF considered taxable income? No, if you live in the U.S., payments from the Fund are intended to fall under Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. This means money you receive from the Fund should not be taxable to you and shouldn't be included in your taxable income.
For international employees, please contact a tax professional with expertise in your country's tax laws for advice regarding the tax treatment.

Donations

Does the AT&T Foundation match donations to the ERF? Yes, the AT&T Foundation will make a $1 to $1 match to employee donations made to the ERF.

Can I text-to-donate? Yes. For a quick and easy way to support the ERF, domestic employees can text ERF to 2880 from their personal device with an AT&T service plan to donate to the AT&T Employee Relief Fund (*Message and data rates may apply).

Can I send my donations to a specific employee or coworker? No, due to IRS rules, the ERF cannot accept contributions that are for one specific person or family.

Can my workgroup have a fundraiser to help the colleagues in our workgroup? No, designations to specific individuals or groups are not permitted, per IRS rules. ERF fundraisers may be held by AT&T business units or groups of AT&T employees and should be managed through Benevity.

*Funds raised will go into the general ERF and made available to all eligible employees. Please see the AT&T Fundraising Guidelines for more details about fundraisers.

*If you don't have access to the Benevity fundraising site, you can still raise money for ERF locally and send funds directly to the ERF.

I am an international employee. Can I donate? Yes, all international employees can donate, except for China and India.

If your question was not answered, feel free to reach out to us at employeerelief@att.com.