Kaplan Higher Education sued for race discrimination

The Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan Higher Education division was sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over claims the company rejected job applicants based on credit history, a decision which discriminated by race.

The lawsuit, filed today in federal court in Cleveland, alleges that Kaplan’s hiring practices have violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 since at least 2008. The lawsuit seeks lost wages and benefits, and offers of employment for people who weren’t hired.

“This practice has an unlawful discriminatory impact because of race and is neither job-related nor justified by business necessity,” the EEOC said in a statement.

Kaplan Higher Education enrolls 110,000 students, with about 70,000 attending class online, and has 75 campuses nationwide. The Chicago-based school derived 87 percent of its revenue from federal student aid in 2009.

“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,” Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence, of the EEOC’s Philadelphia district office, said in the statement.

Credit Checks

The agency is reviewing the use of credit information in employment, and held an October hearing on the issue. Guidelines for use of the information by employers may be issued next year, EEOC spokeswoman Christine Nazer said.

Washington Post Co. obtained almost two-thirds of its third-quarter revenue from Kaplan, the Washington-based company said Nov. 5.

Michele Pore, a spokeswoman for Kaplan, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Kaplan also faces an investigation by the Florida attorney general into recruiting practices at for-profit colleges. Kaplan suspended enrollment at two of its campuses after a U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation released Aug. 4 found that recruiters were exaggerating how much applicants could earn from a Kaplan education.