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Employment Rulings in the D.C. Circuit

The D.C. Circuit covers the federal courts in the District of Columbia. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,453 published rulings we track here (19732026), the breakdowns below show how they were decided. They describe published opinions only — not the odds of any particular situation.

How These Rulings Ended

Of the 1,453 published rulings we track in the D.C. Circuit.

Defendant Win
711 (49%)
Mixed Result
267 (18%)
Plaintiff Win
195 (13%)
Dismissed
147 (10%)
Remanded
128 (9%)
Settlement
5 (0%)

What Happens at Each Stage

A workplace lawsuit moves through stages, and a ruling can end it at any of them. Here is where the 1,447 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
848 (59%)

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
196 (14%)

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.

Of the 196 summary-judgment rulings here, 102 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 94 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
357 (25%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
5 (0%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
2 (0%)

The two sides resolved the dispute by agreement, sometimes with court approval. Most settlements are private and never show up in published opinions.

Default judgment
29 (2%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
10 (1%)

Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.

States in This Circuit

Browse rulings from courts in each state the D.C. Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the D.C. Circuit

American Postal Workers Union, Afl-Cio v. United States Postal Service

May 12, 2010D.D.C.Defendant Win

American Postal Workers' Union v. United States Postal Service

May 12, 2010D.D.C.Defendant Win

International Union, United Government Security Officers v. Clark

Apr 15, 2010D.D.C.Defendant Win

International Union, United Government Security Officers v. Clark

Apr 10, 2010D.D.C.Mixed Result

Cruise Connections Charter Management 1, LP v. Attorney General of Canada

Apr 6, 2010D.C. CircuitPlaintiff Win

UtahAmerican Energy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor

Mar 31, 2010D.D.C.Mixed Result

Utahamerican Energy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor

Mar 31, 2010D.D.C.Mixed Result

Utahamerican Energy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor

Mar 31, 2010D.D.C.Mixed Result

Washington Mailers Union Local M-29 v. Washington Post

Mar 30, 2010D.D.C.Plaintiff Win

Washington Mailers Union Local M-29 v. Washington Post

Mar 30, 2010D.D.C.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Mar 9, 2010D.D.C.Dismissed

Utility Workers Union of America, Local 369, Afl-Cio v. Federal Election Commission

Mar 8, 2010D.D.C.Remanded

Utility Workers Union, Local 369 v. Federal Election Commission

Mar 8, 2010D.D.C.Remanded

Corrigan

Mar 5, 2010D.D.C.Dismissed

Corrigan

Mar 5, 2010D.D.C.Dismissed

Fraternal Order of Police Library of Congress Labor Committee v. Library of Congress

Mar 4, 2010D.D.C.Mixed Result

Faternal Order of Police Library of Congress Labor Committee v. the Library of Congress

Mar 4, 2010D.D.C.Defendant Win

Ulloa

Mar 4, 2010D.D.C.Dismissed

English-Speaking Union v. Johnson

Jan 19, 2010D.D.C.Dismissed

Robinson-Smith

Jan 5, 2010D.C. CircuitDefendant Win

Matthews v. District of Columbia

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Feld Entertainment, Inc.

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

America v. Mills

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Plaintiff Win

America v. Barreto

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Plaintiff Win

Animal Welfare Institute,et Al v. Feld Entertainment, Inc.

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Matthews v. District of Columbia

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Physicians for Human Rights v. U.S. Department of Defense

Dec 30, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Boone v. Rice

Dec 29, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Washington v. Geren

Dec 18, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

National Postal Mail Handlers Union v. American Postal Workers Union

Dec 18, 2009D.C. CircuitDefendant Win

Chennareddy v. Dodaro

Dec 18, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Marshall v. Honeywell Technology Systems Inc

Dec 18, 2009D.D.C.Dismissed

Washington v. Geren

Dec 18, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Evans v. Sebelius

Dec 17, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Mpoy v. Fenty

Dec 15, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Mpoy v. Fenty

Dec 15, 2009D.D.C.Dismissed

Graffius v. Shinseki

Dec 11, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

McGrath v. Rice

Dec 11, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Al-Adahi

Dec 10, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Al-Adahi

Dec 9, 2009D.D.C.Remanded

Nurriddin v. Bolden

Dec 4, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Nurriddin v. O'Keefe

Dec 4, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Aguirre v. Securities & Exchange Commission

Dec 2, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Aguirre v. Securities and Exchange Commission

Dec 2, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Ghawanmeh v. Islamic Saudi Academy

Nov 27, 2009D.D.C.Dismissed

Ghawanmeh v. Islamic Saudi Academy

Nov 27, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Harpole Architects, P.C. v. Barlow

Nov 9, 2009D.D.C.Mixed Result

Shay v. Sight & Sound Systems, Inc.

Nov 9, 2009D.D.C.Dismissed

American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2741 v. District of Columbia

Oct 26, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2741 v. District of Columbia

Oct 26, 2009D.D.C.Defendant Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

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These figures summarize publicly available published court opinions only. Published opinions over-represent summary-judgment rulings (decisions made without a trial) and appeals, because those are the stages where judges most often write formal opinions. Most workplace disputes settle privately and never appear here at all. A ruling’s outcome reflects many case-specific factors and is not a prediction for any other situation. Read more about how we source and classify rulings.

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 classification of outcomes and case stages is based on automated analysis and may not reflect the full scope of each case.