U. of Phoenix Settles Discrimination Suit for $1.9-Million

by E Wayne Ross on November 12, 2008

The Chronicle: U. of Phoenix Settles Discrimination Suit for $1.9-Million

The University of Phoenix and its parent company, Apollo Group Inc., will pay nearly $1.9-million to people who worked as online enrollment counselors and alleged in a federal lawsuit that the giant for-profit university discriminated against non-Mormon employees.

The payment will help settle a lawsuit that was filed two years ago in U.S. District Court in Phoenix by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the counselors (The Chronicle, September 29, 2006). The lawsuit accuses the University of Phoenix of giving employees who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the most promising “leads,” the industry term for information on prospective students. It also alleges that lesser-qualified Mormon counselors were promoted ahead of their non-Mormon counterparts, and that tuition waivers were granted to Mormon employees who failed to meet registration goals but withheld from non-Mormon workers, among other charges.