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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

Granite Re, Inc. v. Nat'l Credit Union Adm Board

Apr 24, 20208th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Chalepah

Apr 16, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Murphy v. Labor Source, LLC

Apr 16, 2020D. Minn.Mixed Result

Holmquist

Apr 15, 2020D. Neb.Remanded

Walsh

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

Byrd

Apr 13, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Construction Industry Laborers Pension Fund v. St. Charles County Piping, Inc.

Apr 13, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Clark v. Sarpy County

Apr 10, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Carlentine

Apr 10, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

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

Apr 4, 2020D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Jones

Apr 3, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Shelton

Apr 3, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Gateway Design and Construction Services, LLC

Apr 1, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Carson

Apr 1, 2020E.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Dawkins

Mar 31, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Thompson

Mar 31, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Easterday

Mar 31, 2020N.D. IowaDefendant Win

Schroeder

Mar 30, 2020W.D. Mo.Remanded

Quinton Harris v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Mar 24, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Haworth

Mar 23, 2020W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Kunkle

Mar 20, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Nicolas Escobar-Tejada v. William P. Barr

Mar 20, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Department of Labor v. EJ's Cleaning Services Inc

Mar 19, 2020E.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Whitfield

Mar 18, 2020E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Quiles

Mar 17, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Goeldner

Mar 9, 2020W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Rude

Mar 5, 2020D.N.D.Dismissed

Lo

Mar 4, 2020D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Bahshoota

Mar 3, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

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

Mar 2, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Walmart

Feb 26, 2020W.D. Ark.Remanded

Loescher

Feb 26, 2020D. Minn.Dismissed

Leato

Feb 24, 2020W.D. Ark.Dismissed

Dolgencorp, LLC v. NLRB

Feb 13, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Garang

Feb 12, 2020N.D. IowaDismissed

Astarita

Feb 6, 2020W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Larson

Feb 6, 2020D. Minn.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. New Prime Inc

Feb 4, 2020W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

West

Feb 3, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Dakota, MN & Eastern Railroad v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jan 30, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Williams v. H & H Auto Parts, LLC

Jan 30, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. InVision Excavating & Contracting, LLC

Jan 30, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Harder

Jan 29, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Poland

Jan 29, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

McMechen

Jan 27, 2020E.D. Ark.Settlement

Tardio

Jan 14, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

International Union v. Trane U.S. Inc.

Jan 10, 20208th CircuitMixed Result

Hunt

Jan 6, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Ribbing

Jan 3, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Union Pacific Railroad Company v. International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) - Transportation Division

Jan 3, 2020D. Neb.Plaintiff 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.