Opinion ID: 769539
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Substantially younger.

Text: 18 Finally, we also note that Radue was required to show that any similarly situated employees were substantially younger, which Radue cannot do as to Nankervis and Proctor. Nankervis was forty-six years old at the time of the RIF, which is problematic for Radue because to satisfy the substantially younger requirement, the relevant individual must be at least ten years younger than the plaintiff. Hartley v. Wisconsin Bell, Inc., 124 F.3d 887, 893 (7th Cir. 1997). There being only seven years difference between the two, Nankervis is not substantially younger. Proctor won't work either, as he is 9.5 years younger than Radue. But 9.5 is pretty close to 10, and where a plaintiff just misses the 10-year mark, he can still present a triable claim if he directs the court to evidence that his employer considered age to be a significant factor. Fisher, 139 F.3d at 1141. But all Radue has are his statistics, the shortcomings of which we discussed above. Therefore, Radue could not use Proctor to make out a prima facie case either. Although Renatta Williams and the nineteen engineers Radue mentioned are substantially younger than Radue, as we discussed above, Radue didn't show that they were similarly situated.