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Employment Rulings in the Eighth Circuit

The Eighth Circuit covers the federal courts in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,462 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 1,462 published rulings we track in the Eighth Circuit.

Defendant Win
660 (45%)
Plaintiff Win
255 (17%)
Mixed Result
244 (17%)
Dismissed
176 (12%)
Remanded
100 (7%)
Settlement
27 (2%)

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 1,452 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
647 (45%)

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
310 (21%)

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 310 summary-judgment rulings here, 196 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 114 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
385 (27%)

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

Trial verdict
49 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
26 (2%)

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
24 (2%)

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

Other rulings
11 (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 Eighth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Eighth Circuit

Ellis

Sep 28, 2020E.D. Ark.Remanded

Hopman

Sep 24, 2020E.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Tanner

Sep 22, 2020E.D. Ark.Remanded

Davis

Sep 18, 2020D. Neb.Remanded

United Food & Commercial Workers' Union, Local No. 293 v. Noah's Ark Processors, LLC

Sep 17, 2020D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Bohner

Sep 14, 2020E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Freeman

Sep 14, 2020D. Minn.Dismissed

Hopman

Sep 9, 2020E.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Local 513 International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. James Martin Excavating Inc.

Sep 2, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Gary Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Aug 26, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Anthony Collins v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Aug 25, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Parada

Aug 25, 2020D. Minn.Mixed Result

Guadalupe Gonzalez v. R. Bendt

Aug 19, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 2

Aug 18, 2020E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Hernandez

Aug 14, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Johnson v. JGOO, Inc.

Aug 6, 2020W.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Baker

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Zinn

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Harris

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Miller v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Taylor

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Mount

Aug 5, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

In re EpiPen ERISA Litigation (Klein v. Prime Therapeutics, LLC)

Aug 5, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

Satanic Temple, The v. Belle Plaine, City of

Jul 31, 2020D. Minn.Mixed Result

International Union v. Trane U.S. Inc.

Jul 30, 20208th CircuitRemanded

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Simms Building Group, Inc.

Jul 24, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

O'Neill

Jul 23, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Durham v. Laborers' Benefits Saint Louis

Jul 20, 2020E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Wubben

Jul 15, 2020D.S.D.Defendant Win

WM Crittenden Operations LLC v. United Food and Commercial Workers Local Union 1529

Jul 2, 2020E.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division/IBT v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jul 1, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Greger

Jun 26, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Brown

Jun 23, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Petrone

Jun 22, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Burkes

Jun 17, 2020W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Mekasha

Jun 16, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Ranney

Jun 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Langrell

Jun 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Langrell

Jun 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

King

Jun 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

David Swinton v. Adam J. Starke

May 29, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Potts

May 28, 2020W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Werner Enterprises, Inc.

May 27, 2020D. Neb.Remanded

Watson

May 26, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Hopman

May 26, 2020E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Perry

May 20, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

United Food & Commercial Workers' Union, Local No. 293 v. Noah's Ark Processors, LLC

May 15, 2020D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Yousefzadeh

May 5, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Edwards-Kamadulski, L.L.C.

Apr 29, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Garza

Apr 28, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Browse Other 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.