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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

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad

Oct 24, 20018th CircuitDismissed

Budrovich

Oct 15, 20018th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Murray

Oct 11, 2001N.D. IowaMixed Result

St. Luke's Episcopal-Presbyterian Hospitals, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 10, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

St. Luke's Hospital v. NLRB

Oct 10, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Chemsico, Inc.

Oct 5, 2001E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Beverly Enterprises-Minnesota, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 2, 20018th CircuitRemanded

Marion R. Stafne v. Unicare Homes, D/B/A Trevilla of New Brighton, Inc., Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus on Behalf Of

Oct 1, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Arthur

Oct 1, 2001D. Minn.Defendant Win

In Re JE Adams Industries, Ltd.

Sep 28, 2001N.D. IowaDefendant Win

Brotherhood Of Maintenance Of Way Employees v. Soo Line Railroad Company

Sep 24, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees v. Soo Line Railroad

Sep 24, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Esicorp, Inc. St. Louis Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company

Sep 17, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Home Products Corp.

Sep 13, 2001N.D. IowaMixed Result

Minnesota School Board Ass'n Insurance Trust v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Sep 13, 2001D. Minn.Defendant Win

Secretary of Labor v. United States Postal Service

Aug 31, 20018th CircuitDismissed

Becton, Dickinson & Co. v. Accu-Path Medical Laboratory, Inc.

Aug 27, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Woodbridge Corp.

Aug 24, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Woodbridge Corp.

Aug 24, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Marken Gannon v. Circuit City Stores, Inc., - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus on Behalf Of

Aug 17, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

R&b Appliance Parts, Inc., Doing Business as Adasen Distributing v. Amana Company, L.P., Doing Business as Amana Appliances

Aug 3, 20018th CircuitMixed Result

Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad

Aug 2, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

McArthur Johnson v. Union Pacific RR

Aug 2, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Tom Cooney, Jr. v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Jul 23, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Cooney v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jul 23, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Stevenson

Jul 19, 2001E.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Union Pacific Railroad Company, a Delaware Corporation v. Progress Rail Services Corporation, an Alabama Corporation

Jul 10, 20018th CircuitRemanded

Union Pacific RR v. Progress Rail

Jul 10, 20018th CircuitRemanded

Bradley Lee Winters v. Robert Adams and Craig Prahm

Jun 25, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Bradley Lee Winters v. Robert Adams

Jun 25, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

King Soopers, Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Jun 22, 20018th CircuitPlaintiff Win

King Soopers v. NLRB

Jun 22, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Khazai

Jun 1, 2001E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

SGI/Argis Employee Benefit Trust Plan v. Canada Life Assurance Co.

May 10, 2001E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Advanced Construction Services, Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Apr 20, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Advanced

Apr 20, 20018th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. v. Barr Laboratories, Inc.

Apr 17, 2001D. Minn.Dismissed

Chicago Truck Drivers, Helpers & Warehouse Workers Union Pension Fund v. Brotherhood Labor Leasing

Apr 16, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Parcel Service, Inc.

Apr 14, 2001D. Minn.Defendant Win

Daggitt v. United Food And Commercial Workers International Union, Local 304a

Apr 4, 20018th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Home Products Corp.

Apr 4, 2001N.D. IowaRemanded

Daggitt v. United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, Local 304A

Apr 4, 20018th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Herman

Mar 29, 2001E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

NLRB v. Davenport Lutheran

Mar 27, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Davenport Lutheran Home

Mar 27, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local Union No. 36 v. Systemaire, Inc.

Mar 20, 20018th CircuitDefendant Win

Zemo v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Mar 14, 20018th CircuitRemanded

AgGrow Oils, L.L.C. v. National Union Fire

Mar 7, 20018th CircuitRemanded

Nelson v. Wittern Group, Inc.

Jan 29, 2001S.D. IowaMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Automatic Systems Co.

Jan 18, 2001D. Minn.Mixed Result

Showing 1,2511,300 of 1,462 rulings · Page 26 of 30

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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.