Kaplan Charged with Race Discrimination

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Kaplan Higher Education Corporation, a nationwide provider of post secondary education, allegedly engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful discrimination by refusing to hire a class of black job applicants nationwide, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a recent lawsuit.

Since at least 2008, Kaplan Higher Education allegedly rejected job applicants based on their credit history, according to the agency. This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity, the EEOC charged in its lawsuit.

As a result of these practices, the EEOC is charging the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit was filed by the EEOCs Cleveland Field Office in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. It is a violation of Title VII to use hiring practices that have a discriminatory impact because of race and that are not job-related and justified by business necessity.

The EEOC attempted to reach a voluntary settlement before filing its suit. The agency is seeking injunctive relief as well as lost wages and benefits. The suit also includes offers of employment for people who were not hired because of Kaplan Higher Educations use of job applicants credit history.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was intended to eliminate practices that serve as arbitrary barriers to employment because of a job applicants race, said Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of the EEOCs Philadelphia District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, and portions of New Jersey and Ohio. Employers need to be mindful that any hiring practice be job-related and not screen out groups of people, even if it does so unintentionally.

Workplace discrimination charge filings with the federal agency nationwide rose to an unprecedented level of 99,922 during fiscal year 2010.

When contacted by the Citizen, Tom Hoyt, a spokesperson for Kaplan said in a statement, We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are proud of the diversity of our workforce. Kaplan Higher Education conducts background checks on all prospective employees. For employees whose responsibilities include financial matters, such as those who advise students on financial aid, background checks also include credit histories.

This is not unusual, he added. As many as 60% of Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) members consult credit reports in the hiring, promotion or dismissal of employees, Hoyt stated.

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