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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 752 published rulings we track here (1973–2026), 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 752 published rulings we track in the Eighth Circuit.

Defendant Win
372 (49%)
Plaintiff Win
147 (20%)
Mixed Result
87 (12%)
Dismissed
74 (10%)
Remanded
36 (5%)
Settlement
36 (5%)

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 752 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
301 (40%)

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
180 (24%)

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 180 summary-judgment rulings here, 112 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 67 let the worker’s claims continue; the rest resolved in other ways.

Motion to dismiss
175 (23%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
35 (5%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
35 (5%)

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
22 (3%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
4 (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

International Union v. Trane U.S. Inc.

Jul 30, 20208th CircuitRemanded

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Simms Building Group, Inc.

Jul 24, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

O'Neill

Jul 23, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Hopkins

Jul 20, 2020W.D. Mo.Settlement

Durham v. Laborers' Benefits Saint Louis

Jul 20, 2020E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Greger

Jun 26, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Petrone

Jun 22, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Mekasha

Jun 16, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Langrell

Jun 5, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Watson

May 26, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Edwards-Kamadulski, L.L.C.

Apr 29, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Garza

Apr 28, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Warmington

Apr 21, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

Hampton

Apr 16, 2020E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Murphy v. Labor Source, LLC

Apr 16, 2020D. Minn.Mixed Result

Construction Industry Laborers Pension Fund v. St. Charles County Piping, Inc.

Apr 13, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Carlentine

Apr 10, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

United Food & Commercial Workers' Union, Local No. 293 v. Noah's Ark Processors, LLC

Apr 4, 2020D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Shelton

Apr 3, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Gateway Design and Construction Services, LLC

Apr 1, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Carson

Apr 1, 2020E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Dawkins

Mar 31, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Thompson

Mar 31, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Easterday

Mar 31, 2020N.D. IowaDefendant Win

Schroeder

Mar 30, 2020W.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Nowacki

Mar 26, 2020D.S.D.Dismissed

Quinton Harris v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Mar 24, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Nicolas Escobar-Tejada v. William P. Barr

Mar 20, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Department of Labor v. EJ's Cleaning Services Inc

Mar 19, 2020E.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Goeldner

Mar 9, 2020W.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Rude

Mar 5, 2020D.N.D.Dismissed

Walmart

Feb 26, 2020W.D. Ark.Dismissed

Loescher

Feb 26, 2020D. Minn.Dismissed

Larson

Feb 6, 2020D. Minn.Settlement

Dakota, MN & Eastern Railroad v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jan 30, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. InVision Excavating & Contracting, LLC

Jan 30, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Harder

Jan 29, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Poland

Jan 29, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Tardio

Jan 14, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

International Union v. Trane U.S. Inc.

Jan 10, 20208th CircuitMixed Result

Hunt

Jan 6, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Yousefzadeh

Dec 30, 2019D. Minn.Defendant Win

EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc.

Dec 10, 20198th CircuitDefendant Win

Pope

Dec 5, 2019D. Neb.Defendant Win

Nichols

Nov 27, 2019D. Neb.Dismissed

Roswick

Nov 13, 2019D.N.D.Plaintiff Win

Adkinson

Nov 8, 2019W.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Unified Contracting Services, LLC

Nov 7, 2019E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Smiley

Oct 22, 2019E.D. Ark.Settlement

Edwards

Oct 21, 2019D. Neb.Defendant Win

Showing 251–300 of 752 rulings · Page 6 of 16

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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.