“McMullin learned of the vacancy from the officer previously holding the position. ‘The standard procedure for applying for an open position…was to send a letter of interest after learning of an available position. So, McMullin submitted her letter of interest on February 27, 2012. It was Colonel Berry’s policy to ignore letters like Lieutenant McMullin’s “until the position is posted.’ The position was posted on March 26, 2012. ‘Colonel Berry took no action initially with respect to Lieutenant McMullin’s application because the Director’s position had not yet been ‘posted,’ but [] for some reason, Colonel Berry continued to ignore Lieutenant McMullin’s application after the Position Open Notice was released despite his policy to ignore early arriving applications only ‘until the position is posted.’ ‘[T]hese facts and reasonable inferences could support the conclusion that Lieutenant McMullin applied for the Director’s position and was rejected.’ This is an issue for a factfinder to resolve.”
McMullin v. Mississippi Department of Safety, No. 14–60366, 2015 WL 1529108 (5th Cir. 2015)