Opinion ID: 2822019
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Suspect Hiring Criteria

Text: Stennett also points to evidence showing that TPSD’s explanation for its hiring decisions relies upon qualifications nowhere listed in the job postings, some of which are “subjective” in nature. For example, with regard to un-listed qualifications, she emphasizes that the proffered reason for hiring Tyrone Catledge for Lawndale Assistant Principal was his background in “STEM” (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and math) education, but that such qualifications were nowhere listed in the job posting. Similarly, she argues that the hiring decisions for other positions were purportedly based largely on qualifications nowhere listed in the job postings or preferences: Tupelo Middle School Assistant Principal (experience teaching history and language arts and with guidance counseling), Lawhon Administrative Intern (prior experience at the school where students leaving Lawhon would move next), High School Advancement Academy Lead Teacher (math teaching experience), Tupelo High School Testing Coordinator (ability to understand the accountability system and help teachers understand data), District Testing Coordinator (math certification, experience as assistant principal at high school, and assistance with high school testing). 12 Although Stennett does not claim discrimination with respect to the available English-teaching position at the alternative school, we also note that Stennett communicated her interest in this position to Larry Harmon, the school’s director, when he informed her of the job. Although Harmon explained that he would “get back with [her]” about an interview, Stennett never heard back from him despite calling him “quite a few times” and even leaving a note for him. The position ultimately was filled, and Stennett was never interviewed. Harmon likewise refused to interview Stennett for the High School Advancement Academy Lead Teacher position. 19 Case: 13-60783 Document: 00513135322 Page: 20 Date Filed: 07/30/2015 No. 13-60783 Stennett also points to evidence indicating that some of TPSD’s hiring decisions were purportedly based, in part, upon subjective considerations. For example, Brock English, who conducted interviews for the Assistant Principal position at Lawndale Elementary, explained that he was “looking for . . . a candidate . . . to kind of complement [him].” Similarly, Stennett points to evidence that Christy Carroll, who made the initial hiring recommendation for the Lawhon Administrative Intern, “felt that [the successful applicant] would be a good instructional leader for her teachers.” This court has held that an employer’s reliance on “previously unmentioned” job requirements can raise a “genuine issue of material fact as to pretext.” Moss v. BMC Software, Inc., 610 F.3d 917, 926 (5th Cir. 2010), Relatedly, we have recognized that subjective hiring criteria “‘provide opportunities for unlawful discrimination’ because the criteria itself may be pretext for age discrimination.” Medina v. Ramsey Steel Co., 238 F.3d 674, 681 (5th Cir. 2001) (quoting Lindsey v. Prive Corp., 987 F.2d 324, 327 (5th Cir. 1993)). This case illustrates how reliance upon subjective and previously unmentioned or peripheral hiring criteria could help support a rational jury’s finding of pretext. Specifically, with respect to the Lawndale Elementary Assistant Principal position, a rational jury would not have to believe that a background in teaching science and technology (i.e., STEM) has any direct or crucial nexus to being an assistant administrator at an elementary school, particularly where the job posting did not list such experience. Indeed, considered in tandem with Stennett’s other evidence, a rational jury could conclude that TPSD’s reliance upon this factor was a post-hoc method of covering up age-based animus. Similarly, the only other rationale offered by TPSD to explain hiring Catledge over Stennett was that he would “complement” the principal, Brock English. TPSD’s reliance upon such vague and abstract criteria for rejecting Stennett could further add support to a 20 Case: 13-60783 Document: 00513135322 Page: 21 Date Filed: 07/30/2015 No. 13-60783 finding of pretext. Accord Patrick v. Ridge, 394 F.3d 311, 317 (5th Cir. 2004) (“[A] hiring official’s subjective belief that an individual would not ‘fit in’ or was not ‘sufficiently suited’ for a job is at least as consistent with discriminatory intent as it is with nondiscriminatory intent: The employer just might have found the candidate ‘not sufficiently suited’ because of a protected trait such as age[.]”). If considered in isolation, Stennett’s “hiring-criteria” evidence might not be sufficient to support a rational inference that TPSD’s proffered hiring rationales are pretextual. See, e.g., Manning v. Chevron Chem. Co., LLC, 332 F.3d 874, 882 (5th Cir. 2003) (“The mere fact that an employer uses subjective criteria is not, however, sufficient evidence of pretext.”). Yet, as we have explained, Stennett does not rely on this evidence alone in order to cast doubt on TPSD’s proffered hiring rationale, and therefore it would be improper to reflexively dismiss this entire strand of evidence as irrelevant to our inquiry into whether the evidence, viewed as a whole, would permit a rational jury to disbelieve TPSD. See Shackelford, 190 F.3d at 404. Considered in conjunction with other evidence probative of pretext, a rational jury could conclude that TPSD’s significant reliance upon unlisted and, in some instances, subjective job qualifications for filling the positions contributes to its suspicion of the veracity of TPSD’s purported hiring rationale.