Sharp

MEMORANDUM *

Clarence Sharp appeals the district court’s Rule 52(c) judgment in favor of his former employer, Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), on his discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

Sharp’s contentions relating to the formal findings of fact issued by the district court are misplaced. First, it is not impermissible for a trial court to adopt a party’s proposed findings wholesale. Russian River Watershed Protection Comm. v. City of Santa Rosa, 142 F.3d 1136, 1141 (9th Cir.1998). Second, the findings are not contrary to the weight of the evidence. The FDA introduced evidence that Sharp’s deficient work performance was a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for its refusal to promote him and for the hostile work environment he faced. To prevail thereafter, Sharp was required to demonstrate that the FDA’s proffered reason was pretext for impermissible discrimination. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 , 36 L.Ed.2d 668…