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Transportation & Logistics

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.

33 distinct federal employment cases from public court records (19782018)

28 trusted published court opinions across 25 distinct cases

What public court records show

Public federal court records list Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. as an employer in 33 distinct federal employment cases between 1978 and 2018.

Of the 28 trusted published opinions analyzed, the most common outcomes were: 15 ended in a ruling for the employer, 8 had a mixed result, 2 were sent back to a lower court, and 1 ended in a ruling for the worker.

Plaintiffs won 1 of 25 adjudicated opinions (4%).

The most common claims on record were Discrimination, Failure To Accommodate, and Breach Of Contract.

Cases were filed across 7 states, most often in IL.

These figures summarize publicly available U.S. federal court records only. Most workplace disputes are resolved privately and never appear in litigation. A case outcome reflects many factors and is not a finding that any employer violated the law.

28
Published Opinions Analyzed

Written decisions across 25 distinct cases.

4%
Plaintiff Win Rate

1 of 25 adjudicated opinions ended in a plaintiff win.

Does not imply wrongdoing — many cases are dismissed or resolved without findings of liability.

7
States

Jurisdictions represented in the analyzed opinions.

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About this employer

Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. appears in 28 trusted published federal employment opinions. Recent written decisions on record:

Hogroe v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company (2018) — Defendant Win. This case involved a railroad worker named Hogroe who had a dispute with Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company over workplace issues covered by special railroad labor laws. Read the ruling.

Shell v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (2018) — Mixed Result. An employee filed a discrimination complaint against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, claiming the company unlawfully discriminated based on disability and failed to provide necessary workplace accommodations. The company asked the court to reconsider its earlier decision dismissing some claims. Read the ruling.

Danny Snapp v. United Transportation Union (2013) — Remanded. Danny Snapp filed a lawsuit against the United Transportation Union, a labor organization that represents transportation workers. The case involved employment law issues, though the specific complaints aren't detailed in the available information. Read the ruling.

The published opinions primarily involve Discrimination (10 of 28), Failure to Accommodate (8 of 28), Breach of Contract (5 of 28). Browse the linked claim hubs for outcome statistics and other employers facing the same allegations. Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate and Breach of Contract.

Published opinions span Illinois (4), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), Washington (2). Illinois is an EEOC deferral state, which extends the federal Title VII / ADA / ADEA filing deadline from 180 to 300 days. Browse state-specific employment rulings for jurisdictional patterns. Illinois rulings, Tennessee rulings, Texas rulings and Washington rulings.

These published opinions sit within the transportation sector, where USERRA, FMLA, and DOT safety-retaliation claims appear alongside standard discrimination claims.

Opinion Outcomes

Defendant Win
15 (54%)
Mixed Result
8 (29%)
Remanded
2 (7%)
Plaintiff Win
1 (4%)
Settlement
1 (4%)
Dismissed
1 (4%)

Opinion Stages

28 analyzed opinions have a classified procedural stage.

Appeal
17 (61%)
Summary judgment
8 (29%)

Of the 8 summary-judgment opinions, 3 ended the case in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.’s favor and 5 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
2 (7%)
Settlement / consent decree
1 (4%)
What do these stages mean?
Appeal
A higher court reviewing an earlier decision. Many published opinions come from this stage, after a lot has already happened in the case.
Summary judgment
A ruling where the judge decides the case — or part of it — without a trial, because one side argues the key facts are not in dispute. For workers, getting past this step is often the biggest hurdle.
Motion to dismiss
An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.
Settlement / consent decree
The two sides resolved the dispute by agreement, sometimes with court approval. Most settlements are private and never show up in published opinions.

Published federal-court opinions only — most workplace disputes are resolved privately. This is not anyone’s odds, and not a finding that any employer violated the law.

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What these numbers mean

A case is one lawsuit, identified by its court and docket number. The docket is the running court record for that same case — it is not an extra case.

A published opinion or ruling is a written court decision. One case can produce several opinions, so opinion counts and case counts answer different questions. Only trusted, reportable opinions are used in the outcome statistics on this page.

Docket entries are the individual filings inside a case — motions, orders, scheduling notices. We read them to confirm a case is real and to see where it got to, but an entry is never counted as a case or as an outcome. A single case can generate hundreds of entries.

Far fewer opinions than cases is normal. Many employment cases settle privately or close without a published opinion. No opinion here does not mean the worker lost; it means this public record does not show a reportable result.

Everything on this page comes from public federal court records. Where we are not confident a record is accurate, we leave it out rather than guess.

Federal court cases

public court records

One row per court+docket case · written opinions stay grouped inside their case · plaintiff names redacted

Employee v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · Dec 2018 · Illinois · Discrimination
Defendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · May 2018
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · May 2018
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · May 2018
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · May 2018
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.
9th Circuit · Dec 2017
Defendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway Co.
D. Minn. · Mar 2017
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
N.D. Ill. · Dec 2015 · Illinois · Discrimination
Mixed Result
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
D. Mont. · Oct 2015
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC
N.D. Tex. · May 2015
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC
7th Circuit · Jan 2014 · Illinois · Breach of Contract
Defendant Win
Employee v. United Transportation Union
9th Circuit · Nov 2013 · Washington · Discrimination
Remanded
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.
N.D. Ill. · Sep 2013
Docket closed
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad
10th Circuit · Feb 2012 · Disability Discrimination
Settlement
Employee v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.
W.D. Tenn. · Jun 2009 · Tennessee · Discrimination
2 opinionsDefendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.
W.D. Tenn. · May 2009 · Tennessee · Discrimination
Mixed Result
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company and Longview Switching Company
9th Circuit · Jun 2008 · Wrongful Termination
2 opinionsDefendant Win
Employee v. Union Pacific R.R.
10th Circuit · Jul 2007 · Negligence
Defendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern
10th Circuit · Nov 2006 · Discrimination
Defendant Win
Employee v. Union Pacific RR
8th Circuit · Jun 2006 · Negligence
Defendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.
W.D. Okla. · Dec 2005 · Oklahoma · Discrimination
Defendant Win
Employee v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.
N.D. Ill. · Aug 2005 · Illinois · Failure to Accommodate
Mixed Result
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Employee
D.D.C. · Nov 2003 · District of Columbia
Mixed Result
Employee v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.
U.S. Supreme Court · Feb 2003
Defendant Win
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Employee
5th Circuit · Apr 2002
Defendant Win
Showing 25 of 33

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Data sourced from public federal court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes extracted using AI analysis. This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The presence of an employer on this page does not imply wrongdoing — many cases are dismissed or resolved without findings of liability.