A former city of Gainesville job candidate wants to know why he was told his bachelor's degree disqualified him from the job he sought when another candidate for a higher-profile job was given a pass for not having a college degree.

In December 2017, the Gainesville City Commission selected its new clerk, Omichele Gainey, from a pool of candidates, despite some commissioners sharing concerns about her not meeting the initial job qualifications. She previously worked as an executive assistant for three commissioners for a year, as an executive assistant at Gainesville Regional Utilities for 1½ years and as a paralegal.

Paul Forté Jr., an equal opportunity investigator with North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety, applied for a compliance investigator job with Gainesville’s office of equal opportunity. Three days later, he was notified he wouldn’t be selected. But Forté contends he was rejected because his age and gender, not his qualifications, and points to the hiring of the city clerk as evidence.

Forté, 71, was a Title IX investigator for University of North Carolina-Greensboro, director of equal employment opportunity at North Carolina Central University, and diversity recruiter for the city of Gainesville.

“It’s straight up bulls---,” Forté said. “For someone to tell me that I’m unqualified, that just shows they don't know anything about human resources.”

Of the nine clerk semifinalists, one was male and two were white. The remaining six were black women. Commissioners during and after the meeting expressed excitement about hiring a minority for the role.

Under federal and state law, it's illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee or candidate based on their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or marital status.

Forté said he also plans to complain to the state’s ethics commission and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the coming days.

In the city complaint, Forté said the commission's clerk hire "unfair" and a “double standard.”

The city’s advertisement for the clerk position required a four-year college degree or a mix of education and related experience. The clerk's salary is $93,000, and can grow $6,000 more if she earns a pair of municipal certificates. The investigator salary is around $55,000.

The city’s advertisement for compliance investigator had a similar job description and allows “an equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities” in place of a bachelor’s degree with a majority of coursework in public or business administration, human resource management or pre-law.

On Jan. 13, Audrey Gainey, the city’s talent acquisition/human resources manager, sent Forté an email that said his master’s degree and experience weren't enough to keep him in the pool of candidates. Audrey Gainey, who is the new city clerk's sister-in-law, is tasked with recruiting and hiring job candidates.

“Your application indicates that you hold a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education,” she wrote. “That degree was determined not to be a related subject. Unfortunately, for this position, the requirements do not allow for experience or the Master’s degree to be considered in lieu of the related education.”

Forté's resume shows he was also pursuing a doctorate degree in education.

Commissioner Harvey Budd said he is happy with the commission's choice for the new clerk, but he also believes Forté should be given a chance.

“That’s not fair,” Budd said. “He’s totally qualified.”

Forté also told The Sun that Audrey Gainey should have excused herself from any involvement in the hiring process that led to her sister-in-law's hiring. An outside search firm conducted the search. Audrey Gainey signed the contract as a witness. It is unclear how much she was involved in the finalist selection process.

Forté argues that the city commission and human resources department knew the clerk job required a four-year degree and about Omichele Gainey's relation to Audrey Gainey, but hired her anyway. He said the commission and HR department “breached public trust and violated Florida ethics standards of conduct.”

“It compromises the integrity of all the candidates that applied,” he said. “The search firm dropped the ball. The city commission dropped and the human resources dropped the ball.”

Forté has requested an outside investigator look into his complaint, since the city’s equal opportunity director reports directly to city commissioners. He also requested an outside investigator to look into the city’s hiring practices and asked for all previously disapproved candidate applications to be reviewed.

Budd said having an outside party investigate the matter would be best and suggested county government's equal opportunity office do it.

Torey Alston, the city’s equal opportunity director, said the office will investigate Forté’s complaint once he sends a notarized copy.