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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

Trbovich

Sep 25, 1995E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Auer

Sep 8, 19958th CircuitDefendant Win

Linda Miller v. National Casualty Company, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

Jul 31, 19958th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. McDonnell Douglas Corp.

Jul 24, 1995E.D. Mo.Settlement

William J. Welsh, Appellee/cross-Appellant v. Burlington Northern, Inc., Employee Benefits Plan, Appellant/cross-Appellee

May 4, 19958th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Murray v. Stuckey's, Inc.

Apr 25, 19958th CircuitDefendant Win

Pat S. BRANDIS, Et Al., Appellants, v. KAISER ALUMINUM & CHEMICAL CORPORATION, Et Al., Appellees

Mar 21, 19958th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Pipes Enterprises

Feb 9, 19958th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Pony Express Courier

Jul 15, 19948th CircuitDefendant Win

Dane

Apr 15, 1994E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Jennings

Apr 15, 1994E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Iowa Mold Tooling Co. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 828

Apr 13, 1993S.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Independent Stave Co., Inc.

Jan 3, 1991E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. KWMT, Inc.

Sep 13, 1988N.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Ritenour School Dist.

May 31, 1988E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Health Enterprises v. Nlrb

Apr 21, 19888th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. South Dakota Wheat Growers Ass'n

Mar 11, 1988D.S.D.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. The Rath Packing Company

Mar 20, 19868th CircuitMixed Result

19 Employee Benefits Cas. 2168, Pens. Plan Guide P 23915v

Mar 1, 19868th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Financial Assurance, Inc.

Sep 24, 1985W.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Villarreal v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

May 21, 19858th CircuitDefendant Win

37 Fair empl.prac.cas. 1346, 37 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,269, 6 Employee Benefits Ca 1629

May 15, 19858th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Southwestern Electric Power Co.

Jul 19, 1984W.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Shell Oil Company v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jul 20, 19828th CircuitRemanded

Samuel T. ROBINO, Appellant, v. Eleanor Holmes NORTON, Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Appellee

Jul 2, 19828th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Home of Economy, Inc.

May 20, 1982D.N.D.Dismissed

EEOC v. Emerson Elec. Co.

Mar 31, 1982E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Shell Oil Co. v. United States EEOC

Sep 22, 1981E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Giles

Sep 3, 1981E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Declue

Jan 20, 19818th CircuitDefendant Win

U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n, International

May 28, 1980D. Minn.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Murphy Motor Freight Lines, Inc.

Apr 2, 1980D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Litton Industries, Inc. v. Nlrb

Feb 12, 19808th CircuitMixed Result

Nlrb v. Erlich's 814, Inc.

Jan 25, 19808th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Harvey Eng. And Mfg. Corp. v. Nlrb

Sep 21, 19798th CircuitDefendant Win

Nlrb v. J-B Enterprises, Inc

Sep 20, 19798th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. North Central Airlines

Aug 29, 1979D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Falkowski Grocery

Aug 16, 19798th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Roswil, Inc. v. Nlrb

Aug 3, 19798th CircuitDefendant Win

Nlrb v. Retail Store Employees Local 322

Aug 3, 19798th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Fry-Wagner Moving & Storage Co.

Feb 27, 1979E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Cihacek

Feb 14, 1979D. Neb.Defendant Win

Nlrb v. Fidelity Telephone Co

Nov 24, 19788th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Contour Chair Lounge Co., Inc.

Sep 28, 1978E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp.

Feb 27, 1978E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Hennepin Broadcasting Associates, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 29, 1975D. Minn.Mixed Result

Nlrb v. Carpenters Local Union 1260

Mar 28, 19758th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OP. COM'N v. Quick Shop Mkts., Inc.

Mar 6, 1975E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Suburban Amc/jeep, Inc

Feb 26, 19758th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Concourse Porsche Audi, Inc

Feb 6, 19758th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 1,4011,450 of 1,462 rulings · Page 29 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.