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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

U.S. Dep't of Labor v. Harris (In Re Harris)

Aug 3, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

Wildman

Aug 3, 2018W.D. Mo.Dismissed

Hamilton-Warwick

Aug 2, 2018D. Minn.Dismissed

London

Aug 1, 2018D.S.D.Plaintiff Win

Parada

Jul 30, 2018D. Minn.Mixed Result

Tschiggfrie Props., Ltd. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Jul 24, 20188th CircuitRemanded

Anderson

Jul 5, 2018W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

NLRB v. EYM King of Missouri, LLC

Jun 12, 20188th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Birapaka

Apr 18, 2018D. Minn.Dismissed

Human Rights Defense Center v. Union County, Arkansas

Apr 17, 2018W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Higgins

Mar 28, 2018D. Neb.Defendant Win

Spence

Mar 27, 2018W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Int'l Alliance of Theatrical Stage Emps. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Mar 26, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

International Alliance v. NLRB

Mar 26, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

Gamada Hussein v. Jefferson B. Sessions, III

Mar 21, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

Astarita

Mar 9, 2018W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Miller v. Starkey Laboratories, Inc.

Mar 2, 2018D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Aerotek, Inc. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Feb 21, 20188th CircuitMixed Result

Haskell

Feb 1, 2018D.S.D.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. M.G. Oil Company

Jan 25, 2018D.S.D.Defendant Win

David Engstrom v. Doc Holladay

Jan 2, 20188th CircuitDefendant Win

Okada

Dec 14, 2017W.D. Ark.Settlement

United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union v. Essentia Health

Nov 15, 2017D. Minn.Defendant Win

Lureen

Oct 10, 2017D.S.D.Defendant Win

City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Sep 29, 2017W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Southern Bakeries, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 27, 20178th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc.

Sep 22, 2017N.D. IowaSettlement

Lureen

Sep 20, 2017D.S.D.Remanded

Greenley

Sep 19, 2017D. Minn.Defendant Win

Rembrandt Enterprises, Inc. v. Illinois Union Insurance Co.

Sep 12, 2017D. Minn.Mixed Result

Corey White v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Aug 15, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

LABR

Aug 14, 20178th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. M.G. Oil Co.

Aug 10, 2017D.S.D.Defendant Win

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 8, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. United States

Aug 1, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. United States

Aug 1, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Division of Employment Security v. Board of Police Commissioners

Jul 28, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Macomb County Employees v. Stratasys Ltd.

Jul 25, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

Donaldson v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh

Jul 24, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

North Memorial Health Care v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 14, 20178th CircuitMixed Result

Union Pacific Railroad v. Surface Transportation Board

Jul 12, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. North Memorial Health Care

Jul 6, 2017D. Minn.Defendant Win

Miklin Enterprises, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 3, 20178th CircuitMixed Result

North Memorial Health Care v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 21, 20178th CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. EYM King of Missouri, LLC

Jun 21, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Entergy Operations, Inc. v. United Government Security Officers of America International Union

May 9, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

United States Ex Rel. Ambrosecchia v. Paddock Laboratories, LLC

May 5, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Missouri Red Quarries, Inc.

Apr 6, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

Cargill, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 24, 20178th CircuitDefendant Win

Hassanin Aly v. Hanzada Import & Export, etc.

Mar 23, 20178th CircuitPlaintiff 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.