Opinion ID: 790270
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denial of Walker's request for additional time to respond to summary judgment motion

Text: 18 After Mueller and Jones filed their summary judgment motion below, Walker sought an extension of time to respond to that motion. Walker sought the extension based on outstanding discovery disputes concerning the production of payroll records that might establish, contrary to the defendants' assertion, that the company paid the lead person more than other warehouse workers. By establishing a pay differential, Walker hoped to show that Jones' decision not to place him in the lead person position amounted to an adverse employment action for purposes of his retaliation claim. Walker did not get the additional time that his attorneys had hoped for, and because they were unable to assemble records establishing that the lead person was paid more than other workers in support of Walker's summary judgment response, the district court held that Jones' refusal to select Walker for the position was not an adverse employment action. Walker now contends that the district court erred in declining to give him more time to complete discovery on this question and to respond to the summary judgment motion. 19 Walker acknowledges that in order to prevail on this argument, he must show not only that the district court abused its discretion in not giving him more time, e.g., Woods v. City of Chicago, 234 F.3d 979, 990 (7th Cir.2000), but also that his inability to complete discovery as to the payroll documents worked to his actual and substantial prejudice, e.g., Gile v. United Airlines, Inc., 95 F.3d 492, 495 (7th Cir.1996). Walker cannot establish that the court's decision prejudiced him, ultimately. As we noted above, even if we indulge the assumption that the lead person was paid more than other workers and that the refusal to hire an individual for that position might constitute an adverse employment action, Walker's contention that Jones' decision not to choose him for that spot was retaliatory fails for another reason, namely that Jones had at least one legitimate, non-retaliatory reason not to choose him which Walker has not shown to be pretextual. The payroll records have no bearing on Jones' rationale.