U.S. Department of Labor
53 distinct federal employment cases from public court records (2000–2025)
60 trusted published court opinions across 53 distinct cases
What public court records show
Public federal court records list U.S. Department of Labor as an employer in 53 distinct federal employment cases between 2000 and 2025.
Of the 60 trusted published opinions analyzed, the most common outcomes were: 34 ended in a ruling for the employer, 12 were dismissed, 9 had a mixed result, and 3 were sent back to a lower court.
Plaintiffs won 2 of 57 adjudicated opinions (4%).
The most common claims on record were Discrimination, Wrongful Termination, and Retaliation.
Cases were filed across 12 states, most often in DC.
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.
Written decisions across 53 distinct cases.
2 of 57 adjudicated opinions ended in a plaintiff win.
Does not imply wrongdoing — many cases are dismissed or resolved without findings of liability.
Jurisdictions represented in the analyzed opinions.
About this employer
U.S. Department of Labor appears in 60 trusted published federal employment opinions. Recent written decisions on record:
Lehman v. U.S. Department of Labor (2025) — Mixed Result. This case involved a discrimination complaint filed by an employee named Lehman against the U.S. Department of Labor. The worker claimed they faced discrimination in their workplace, though the specific details of what type of discrimination occurred are not available in the case information. Read the ruling.
Gottlieb v. Alexander R. Acosta Secretary of Labor (2020) — Defendant Win. This case involved a dispute between an individual named Gottlieb and the U.S. Department of Labor, filed in federal court in New York in March 2020. The case appears to involve civil rights claims against the Department of Labor, though the specific details of what triggered the dispute are not clear from the availabl… Read the ruling.
Adams v. U.S. Dep't of Labor (2018) — Remanded. Adams filed a claim for benefits under a federal program that compensates workers who develop illnesses from job-related exposures. She has COPD (a serious lung disease) and evidence suggesting her condition resulted from workplace exposure to beryllium, a hazardous metal. Read the ruling.
The published opinions primarily involve Discrimination (9 of 60), Wrongful Termination (5 of 60), Retaliation (5 of 60). Browse the linked claim hubs for outcome statistics and other employers facing the same allegations. Discrimination, Wrongful Termination and Retaliation.
Published opinions span District of Columbia (19), Kentucky (3), Illinois (2), Washington (2). District of Columbia 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. District of Columbia rulings, Kentucky rulings, Illinois rulings and Washington rulings.
These published opinions sit within the public sector, where due-process protections, First Amendment retaliation, and union-related (NLRA / state PERB) claims apply.
Opinion Outcomes
Opinion Stages
60 analyzed opinions have a classified procedural stage.
Of the 10 summary-judgment opinions, 6 ended the case in U.S. Department of Labor’s favor and 4 let the worker’s claims continue.
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.
- Trial verdict
- A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.
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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Claim Types
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 recordsOne row per court+docket case · written opinions stay grouped inside their case · plaintiff names redacted
Other Government & Public Sector employers
Browse trusted published opinions involving similar workplaces.
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.