DECATURISH.COM: Laurus Technical Institute Closure

Career College Central Summary:

Students attending Laurus Technical Institute were taken by surprise when the school on Monday announced it was shutting down for good.
President and CEO Terry Hess said the closure of the for-profit school, which has three campuses including one on Church Street in Decatur, was due to dwindling enrollment. He said the enrollment drop was “due a change in federal guidelines, instituted two years ago, which significantly impacted the trade school industry.”
“The guidelines included new qualification standards for students seeking support to attend trade schools which, in turn negatively affected annual enrollment at schools,” he said.
A review of federal court records also show the school recently settled a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by four employees. Court records show the matter was resolved in February for an undisclosed sum. The school officially closed on March 23.
The lawsuit accuses Hess of working to protect a supervisor accused of sexually harassing the four women who filed the suit. The allegations also came to the attention of the the National Labor Relations board after Hess instituted a “no gossip” policy for employees, according to an article published on Benefitspro.com. The NLRB ruled against Laurus, according to the article.
Hess said the recent settlement of the lawsuit was not a factor in the school’s decision to close.
“The lawsuit had no effect,” he said. He said “we are not permitted to disclose any details” of the settlement.

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