Two nearly identical job titles. One disappointed candidate. A lesson on who actually holds hiring power
The Alabama Supreme Court has tossed a failure-to-hire lawsuit built on confusion between two similarly named jobs, offering a clear cautionary tale for public-sector HR.
In a decision issued on May 15, 2026, the state's highest court affirmed the dismissal of John William Wilder, Jr.'s case against the City of Hoover, Mayor Frank V. Brocato, City Administrator Allan Rice, and the City's Public Park and Recreation Board.
Wilder had applied to be the City's Park and Recreation Director. The mayor appointed someone else in 2021. Wilder sued, arguing the city defendants had "usurped the Board's autonomy by not allowing the Board to hire the Plaintiff." He pointed to a majority of the Board's members who supported him – and who, according to his complaint, told the mayor so at a specially called meeting. The mayor went a different direction and announced the appointment in a citywide email.
The court's answer turned on a quiet but important distinction.
There are two roles here, not one. The City has a "Park and Recreation Director," appointed by the mayor under Alabama Code § 11-43-81. The Board, a legally separate public corporation, has its own "director of Parks and Recreation," which the Board's bylaws say the Board selects. Wilder wanted the city job. He sued as if the Board could have hired him for it.
Against the Board, the court found Wilder had no standing. Under...
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