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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

Navarro

Apr 17, 2025D. Minn.Defendant Win

Buczek-Booth

Apr 16, 2025E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Knight

Apr 14, 2025D. Minn.Defendant Win

Covington

Apr 9, 2025E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Krebsbach

Apr 7, 2025D. Minn.Mixed Result

Simon

Apr 7, 2025E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Brown

Apr 3, 2025E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ranger Tool & Die Inc

Apr 3, 2025E.D. Ark.Dismissed

Su

Apr 3, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

Morris

Apr 2, 2025E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Clark v. Capital Humane Society

Mar 31, 2025D. Neb.Dismissed

S.

Mar 28, 2025E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Navarro

Mar 24, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

Bland-McCullough

Mar 20, 2025E.D. Ark.Dismissed

Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Mar 17, 2025D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Spotted Bear v. Poor Bear

Mar 17, 2025D.S.D.Defendant Win

Shustarich

Mar 14, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

Wulf

Mar 10, 2025D.S.D.Defendant Win

Stotesbery

Feb 26, 2025D. Minn.Settlement

Gibson

Feb 20, 2025D. Neb.Settlement

Jones

Feb 18, 2025E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Feb 14, 2025D. Neb.Dismissed

Molina

Feb 14, 2025E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Ramos

Feb 10, 2025D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Frost

Feb 6, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers, Transportation Division v. Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad

Feb 4, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

Norton

Feb 4, 2025D. Minn.Settlement

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Interventional Pain Management Associates, PLLC

Jan 29, 2025W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Jones

Jan 28, 2025E.D. Ark.Dismissed

Bush

Jan 27, 2025D. Neb.Defendant Win

Kendall

Jan 27, 2025E.D. Mo.Settlement

Grandson

Jan 27, 2025D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Unified System Division, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Jan 23, 2025D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Schmit

Jan 23, 2025D.S.D.Dismissed

Bowman

Jan 22, 2025W.D. Ark.Dismissed

Abarca

Jan 21, 2025D. Neb.Dismissed

Andrews-Byrd

Jan 17, 2025E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Redding

Jan 17, 2025D.N.D.Dismissed

Schreiber

Jan 16, 2025E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Sanders

Jan 14, 2025D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Allen

Jan 13, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

G.E.S.

Jan 13, 2025E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Boyer

Jan 10, 2025E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Myers

Jan 8, 2025D. Minn.Remanded

Schall

Jan 8, 2025D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Iron Workers Local 25 Pension Fund v. Harmon, Inc.

Jan 8, 2025D. Minn.Dismissed

Woods

Jan 7, 2025E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Dobbins

Jan 6, 2025W.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Kasso

Jan 2, 2025D. Minn.Plaintiff Win

Seals

Dec 30, 2024D. Neb.Dismissed

Browse Other 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.