Mounts

BACKGROUND

Appellant, a “Parole Agent I,” applied for an open position in “Unit 1” of the Fresno Adult Parole Office (Unit 1), a division of the Department. The person given this position would be promoted to “Parole Agent II” (PA II). The interviews for this position were conducted by a panel consisting of Christine Diesslin, the Unit 1 supervisor, and Diesslin’s supervisor, Evelyn Lara-Lowe, the central district administrator. Diesslin and Lara-Lowe created a list of questions specific to the position. Each candidate interviewed was asked to verbally respond to these questions and their responses were scored. Thereafter, Diesslin and Lara-Lowe conferred and selected the top three candidates based on their responses to the questions, their applications, and the recommendations of the candidates’ current supervisors. Lara-Lowe and Diesslin agreed that their order of preference was John Hagler, a Caucasian parole agent, Sims and appellant. Lara-Lowe then prepared a memorandum listing the top three candidates in alphabetical order. This memorandum included information on each candidate’s experience and education. However, it did not rank the candidates or make any recommendations…