ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION BY MORMONS.
Exposing the Mormon Church
East Valley Tribune
November 10, 2008
Donna Hogan
A Federal District Court judge ordered University of Phoenix to pay
nearly $1.9 million for practicing religious discrimination against
non-Mormon employees who worked as enrollment counselors.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a class
action suit that the online university and its parent Apollo Group
provided the best leads to its Mormon recruiters, promoted less
qualified Mormon workers over non-Mormon peers, and disciplined non-
Mormons for conduct they condoned with Mormon employees.
Besides securing the nearly $2 million monetary compensation for 52
individuals, the consent decree requires that University of Phoenix
immediately halt all discriminatory actions, train all managers and
employees on the issue of religious discrimination and hire a
diversity officer to monitor compliance.
One of the Valley's largest employers, the University of Phoenix has
more than 2,000 working in the online enrollment division.
"We are pleased that University of Phoenix is going to stop condoning
such favoritism toward Mormon employees and the resultant
discrimination against non-Mormon employees," said Mary Jo O'Neill,
Phoenix regional attorney for the federal employment watchdog
organization. "It is the EEOC's belief that, for many years, the
University of Phoenix condoned an environment in which Mormon managers
felt free to engage in favoritism toward their Mormon employees, and
did so by providing the Mormon employees things such as strong leads
on potential students. Given that evaluations are based largely on
recruitment numbers, this disproportionate assignment of leads
affected a whole host of matters for employees, including
compensation, access to tuition waivers, and ability to be promoted."
The University of Phoenix confirmed the consent decree including the
payout, training initiatives and oversight but said it does not admit
wrongdoing.
The company issued the following statement: "University of Phoenix is
pleased to have resolved this matter. We are dedicated to providing a
work environment in which our employees are treated fairly and with
respect, and are recognized and rewarded based on their
accomplishments. University of Phoenix is committed to providing equal
opportunity in all aspects of employment and does not tolerate
discrimination or harassment of any kind."