Posted: 12:33 PM- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit accusing the University of Phoenix of discriminating against non-Mormon employees.

The legal action, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, alleges the employment conditions at the private college were less favorable for these workers in regard to enrollment leads, tuition waiver grants and reprimands. In addition, three non-LDS employees in Arizona were transferred and one was fired in retaliation for complaining, according to the suit.

The lawsuit is seeking an injunction barring the university from discriminating based on religion and from retaliating based on complaints about unlawful practices; the institution of policies to provide equal employment opportunities for non-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; a written apology; financial compensation and reinstatement for the affected employees; and unspecified punitive damages.

The EEOC also is asking Judge Earl Carroll to declare its suit a class action.

University spokesman Joe Cockrell said the school has not yet been served with the suit so he cannot comment on the specifics.

“We employ over 15,000 people and we have always been guided by the principle of equal opportunity and respect for others,” he said.

“We are committed to the principles of tolerance and respect, fair treatment, equal access and consideration, and recognition for contributions. We maintain a strict anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy and take a zero-tolerance stance on these issues.” The university, part of the Phoenix-based Apollo Group, caters to working adults. According to its Web site, the school has more than 200,000 students enrolled on campuses and online. The Utah campuses are in Salt Lake City, Taylorsville, Murray, Ogden, Provo and St. George.

University of Phoenix sued for alleged discrimination

PHOENIX - The University of Phoenix has been sued for religious discrimination by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The federal civil rights lawsuit, announced Wednesday, accuses the private university of favoring employees who are members of the Mormon church.

Employees who are not associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were treated less favorably on new student recruiting leads, tuition waivers and reprimands, the commission alleges.

The university employs 4,400 enrollment counselors, including 2,600 in Phoenix, and a total of 15,000 employees.

"We have found a pattern and practice at this very large company of preferring LDS workers over non-LDS workers," said Mary Jo O'Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC.

The suit was filed Monday in federal court in Phoenix.

The University of Phoenix is owned by the Apollo Group Inc., a publicly traded corporation.

Apollo Group spokesman Joe Cockrell said the company has not seen the suit, but said in a statement that the company has "always been guided by equal opportunity and respect for others.

"We maintain a strict anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy and take a zero-tolerance stance on these issues," the statement said.

A day before the suit was announced, the company announced a deal to be the naming sponsor for the Cardinals Stadium in Glendale.

O'Neill said the case reflects a broader trend the agency is seeing of "intolerance in the workplace for people of other religions." Several religious-discrimination lawsuits are currently in litigation, O'Neill said, and the agency settled two cases last year in the Phoenix area.

Katherine Kruse, an EEOC trial attorney in Phoenix, said the agency's investigation revealed "LDS favoritism in both initial assessment of leads and redistribution of leads."

The investigation was prompted by a former enrollment counselor's complaint. Bob Lein said Mormon managers on his team at the University of Phoenix Online gave the best leads or extra leads and student registrations to "their Mormon friends on the team."

"They would get more enrollments, they'd get good reviews and some of them got promoted out of it," said Lein, who is named in the suit along with three other people. "They took care of them."

Lein said he was reprimanded when he enrollment numbers fell and fired two years ago. The EEOC lawsuit alleges he was fired in retaliation for complaining about discrimination.

The EEOC is seeking back pay, damages for emotional distress and punitive damages. No court date has been set.