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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

Jones

Jul 9, 2019D. Neb.Defendant Win

Reynolds

Jul 9, 2019D. Neb.Dismissed

Edgett

Jul 9, 2019D. Neb.Dismissed

St. Paul Park Ref. Co. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Jul 8, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

Silverman

Jul 3, 2019E.D. Ark.Remanded

ABM Industry Groups, LLC v. Service Employees International Union, Local 26

Jun 28, 2019D. Minn.Mixed Result

Chapman

Jun 24, 2019D. Neb.Defendant Win

Hillesheim

Jun 20, 2019D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. East 40, Inc.

Jun 10, 2019D.N.D.Remanded

Franklin

Jun 10, 2019W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

POET, LLC v. Nelson Engineering, Inc.

Jun 6, 2019D.S.D.Defendant Win

Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. Anderson Excavating, Co.

May 31, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

McIntyre

May 28, 2019D. Minn.Mixed Result

Burwell

May 15, 2019D.N.D.Dismissed

Hall

May 9, 2019E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Childers

May 8, 2019E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Bluelinx Corporation v. Construction, Building Material, Ice & Coal Helpers & Inside Employees Union Local Number 120, The

Apr 30, 2019D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Restaurant Recycling, LLC v. Employer Mutual Casualty Co.

Apr 29, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

Nat'l Elevator Bargaining Ass'n v. Int'l Union of Elevator Constructors

Apr 18, 20198th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Centerpoint Energy Res. Corp. v. Gas Workers Union

Apr 10, 20198th CircuitPlaintiff Win

G.C.

Apr 3, 2019D. Minn.Mixed Result

Secretary of Labor v. Walmart Stores East

Mar 28, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

Michael Holloway v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Mar 28, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

Spence

Mar 20, 2019W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Leato

Mar 5, 2019W.D. Ark.Dismissed

Nagel

Mar 4, 2019D. Minn.Dismissed

Vara Birapaka v. U.S. Army Research Laboratory

Feb 28, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Jon Westrum

Feb 22, 20198th CircuitPlaintiff Win

G.C.

Feb 13, 2019D. Minn.Mixed Result

Dailey

Feb 11, 2019W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Holladay

Jan 24, 2019S.D. IowaMixed Result

Wildman

Jan 23, 2019W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Milton

Jan 17, 2019W.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Nadeau

Jan 14, 2019D.N.D.Plaintiff Win

Employers Preferred Ins. Co. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity

Jan 10, 20198th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Walsh

Jan 7, 2019D. Minn.Dismissed

Cope

Jan 2, 2019W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Johnson v. Charps Welding & Fabricating, Inc.

Dec 28, 2018D. Minn.Dismissed

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Local Union No. 10 v. A-1 Refrigeration of Hibbing, Inc.

Dec 14, 2018D. Minn.Mixed Result

Murdock

Dec 3, 2018W.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Cassidy

Nov 29, 2018W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Yousefzadeh

Nov 29, 2018D. Minn.Defendant Win

Guenther

Nov 16, 2018W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Adams

Nov 2, 2018W.D. Ark.Settlement

Acosta

Oct 29, 2018W.D. Mo.Dismissed

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

Oct 26, 2018D. Minn.Mixed Result

Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Local Union No. 618 v. Henkel Consumer Prods.

Oct 26, 2018E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Wildman

Aug 22, 2018W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Thomas

Aug 7, 2018W.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Dustin Hess v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Aug 6, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

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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.