According to the EEOC, since at least 2008, Kaplan Higher Education has rejected job applicants based on their credit history. This week the EEOC sued The Washington Post’s Kaplan Higher Education unit, on behalf of a class of black job applicants alleging that Kaplan’s refusal to hire them based on their credit histories was discriminatory. The lawsuit alleges that Kaplan needlessly evaluated the potential hires’ credit histories in a way that had a disparate negative impact on black job applicants. Several states, including Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Illinois, have banned or limited the use of credit reports in hiring.

According to the complaint, Kaplan violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, under which it is unlawful to use hiring practices that have a discriminatory impact and that are not job-related and justified by business necessity.

According to the EEOC’s website, charges of workplace discrimination rose to an unprecedented level of 99,922 during fiscal year 2010. Abbey Spanier believes that companies should be held responsible for discriminatory practices. Class action cases of workplace discrimination can be brought, as a result of, the unfair treatment of a protected group pf people based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.