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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

Union Pacific Railroad Company v. International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) - Transportation Division

Mar 15, 2021D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Soo Line Railroad Co. v. Admin. Rev. Bd US Labor Dept.

Mar 4, 20218th CircuitMixed Result

Van Oyen v. MSH Chevrolet Cadillac, Inc.

Mar 2, 2021E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Baltz

Mar 2, 2021W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Anderson Excavating Company

Feb 18, 2021D. Neb.Plaintiff Win

Williams v. Unemployment Securities

Feb 16, 2021E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Prokes

Feb 12, 2021D. Minn.Defendant Win

Murphy v. Labor Source, LLC

Feb 12, 2021D. Minn.Defendant Win

Brown

Feb 12, 2021D. Minn.Defendant Win

Fellows

Feb 12, 2021D. Minn.Defendant Win

McCoy

Feb 11, 2021W.D. Ark.Plaintiff Win

Rust

Feb 9, 2021E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Martinez-Nolan

Feb 9, 2021W.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Lechner

Feb 8, 2021D. Neb.Dismissed

Nagel

Feb 2, 2021D. Minn.Dismissed

Lamb

Jan 28, 2021E.D. Ark.Remanded

DeAngelis

Jan 20, 2021W.D. Ark.Mixed Result

Baker

Jan 19, 2021E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Chowdada

Jan 19, 2021E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Ranney

Jan 12, 2021D. Neb.Mixed Result

Sanders

Jan 12, 2021D. Neb.Defendant Win

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

Jan 7, 2021D. Neb.Defendant Win

Cleaver

Jan 7, 2021D. Neb.Mixed Result

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

Dec 23, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Johnson v. Evergreen Packaging LLC

Dec 23, 2020E.D. Ark.Remanded

Construction Industry Laborers Pension Fund v. Danna Excavating, LLC

Dec 22, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Brown

Dec 15, 2020E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Brown

Dec 15, 2020E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

Stephanie Reygadas v. DNF Associates

Dec 14, 20208th CircuitMixed Result

Finger

Dec 9, 2020E.D. Mo.Dismissed

Menge

Dec 8, 2020N.D. IowaMixed Result

Smith v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America

Dec 7, 2020D. Minn.Defendant Win

Mikale

Dec 1, 2020D. Neb.Dismissed

Local 513 International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. James Martin Excavating Inc.

Nov 25, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Construction Industry Laborers Pension Fund v. Zoie, LLC

Nov 25, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Walsh

Nov 25, 2020E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Petry Excavating, LLC

Nov 20, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Gruttemeyer

Nov 17, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Owen

Nov 12, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Terra-Scape Landscape Constructors, LLC

Nov 12, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Lokey

Nov 6, 2020E.D. Mo.Remanded

Timmons

Nov 4, 2020D. Neb.Mixed Result

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Gateway Construction Services, Inc.

Nov 4, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Macon

Oct 30, 2020E.D. Ark.Dismissed

Jorn

Oct 22, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Boyle

Oct 22, 2020D. Neb.Defendant Win

Local 513, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Innovated Construction LLC

Oct 19, 2020E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

American Federation of Government Employees v. U.S. Dept of Veteran Affairs

Oct 2, 2020E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Christopher Buie v. U.S. Dept. of Labor, Admin Bd

Oct 1, 20208th CircuitDefendant Win

Pryor

Sep 30, 2020E.D. Ark.Defendant 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.