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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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Audrain Health Care, Inc.

Jun 30, 20148th CircuitDefendant Win

PSC Custom, LP v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, Local No. 11-770

Jun 26, 20148th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Givens

Jun 19, 2014E.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Cornelius Brown v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jun 13, 20148th CircuitDefendant Win

Wages

May 8, 2014D. Minn.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hill Country Farms, Inc.

May 8, 20148th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Randall Ford, Inc.

Apr 23, 2014W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

IUOE

Mar 21, 20148th CircuitRemanded

Maverick Transportation, LLC v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jan 16, 20148th CircuitDefendant Win

Maverick Transportation, LLC v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jan 16, 20148th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Eartha McMiller v. Metro

Dec 26, 20138th CircuitMixed Result

Stults v. Symrise, Inc.

Dec 24, 2013N.D. IowaDefendant Win

Minnihan v. Mediacom Communications Corp.

Dec 19, 2013S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Reyco Granning LLC v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 245

Nov 15, 20138th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Nov 8, 2013S.D. IowaRemanded

Ray

Sep 13, 2013S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Cindy Adair v. ConAgra Foods

Aug 30, 20138th CircuitDefendant Win

Land O' Lakes, Inc. v. Employers Insurance

Aug 29, 20138th CircuitDismissed

National Labor Relations Board v. RELCO Locomotives, Inc.

Aug 20, 20138th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Carlisle Power Transmission Products, Inc. v. United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union, Local Union No. 662

Aug 5, 20138th CircuitMixed Result

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 148 v. Gateway Hotel Holding, Inc.

Jul 8, 2013E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 682 v. Thoele Asphalt Paving, Inc.

Jun 4, 20138th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jenkins v. Medical Laboratories of Eastern Iowa, Inc.

Apr 30, 20138th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. JBS USA, LLC

Apr 12, 2013D. Neb.Settlement

Lenzen v. Workers Compensation Reinsurance Ass'n

Feb 11, 20138th CircuitDefendant Win

Marcum v. Retirement Plan for Hourly-Rated Employees of Noranda Aluminum, Inc.

Jan 31, 20138th CircuitMixed Result

Brown

Jan 14, 2013E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

United States Postal Service v. American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

Nov 27, 2012D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Park-Mark, Inc.

Nov 23, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Product Fabricators Inc.

Nov 7, 2012D. Minn.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hill Country Farms, Inc.

Sep 18, 2012S.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

Dimas Lopez v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

Sep 4, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Union Insurance v. Hull & Co.

Sep 4, 2012S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Warren Unilube, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 28, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Maytag Corp. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers

Aug 7, 20128th CircuitMixed Result

Laborers District Council v. Natonal Labor Relations Board

Aug 7, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Jenkins

Jul 20, 2012N.D. IowaDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Product Fabricators, Inc.

Jul 10, 2012D. Minn.Defendant Win

Elsie Mayard v. Adam Siegfried

Jun 21, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Rice

Jun 8, 2012E.D. Ark.Settlement

Israel v. Department of Labor, Administrative Review Board

May 10, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

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

May 8, 20128th CircuitSettlement

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Benco Landscape Construction, Inc.

May 4, 20128th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.

Apr 23, 2012W.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Radtke

Apr 2, 2012D. Minn.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. American Firestop Solutions, Inc.

Mar 8, 20128th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Vincent Johnson v. Edward Adams

Feb 27, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Product Fabricators, Inc.

Jan 31, 20128th CircuitRemanded

Hayden

Jan 10, 20128th CircuitDefendant Win

Breckenridge O'Fallon, Inc. v. Teamsters Union Local No. 682

Jan 9, 20128th CircuitDefendant 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.