The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against an education company for rejecting a class of black job applicants because of their credit history.
The EEOC claims that Kaplan Higher Education — a subsidiary of the Washington Post — had been doing this since at least 2008.
"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.
A Kaplan spokeswoman Michele Pore told the Associated Press that the company does background checks on all prospective employees, including checking credit histories of those whose duties would entail financial matters. Pore added the company as a diverse work force and doesn't discriminate.
The EEOC in October held a hearing to address the growing use of credit checks in hiring.
Lawyers representing employers at the hearing says credit checks have become necessary because former employers give little information in references for fear of being sued. Worker advocates argued that someone's credit record has nothing to do with how they would perform on a job.
Source: The Baltimor Sun
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