Employment Rulings in the Federal Circuit
The Federal Circuit is different from the regional circuits: instead of covering a group of states, it hears certain federal-employee workplace appeals from across the country — for example, cases appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the agency that reviews federal-employee discipline and firing disputes.
Of the 75 published rulings we track here (2000–2026), 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 75 published rulings we track in the Federal Circuit.
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 75 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.
A higher court reviewing an earlier decision. Many published opinions come from this stage, after a lot has already happened in the case.
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 1 summary-judgment rulings here, 1 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 0 let the worker’s claims continue.
Top Claim Types
Top Employers
- U.S. Department of Labor5
- United States Postal Service3
- Abbott Laboratories3
- Cascades Canada Ulc2
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.2
- National Credit Union Administration2
Recent Rulings in the Federal Circuit
MBO Laboratories, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co.
Wade
Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. v. Biogenex Laboratories, Inc.
Adams
Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Metabolite Laboratories, Inc.
Jordan
Invitrogen Corp. (Formerly Known as Life Technologies, Inc.) v. Clontech Laboratories, Inc.
Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corp. v. Shell Oil Co.
McCollum
Adams
Former Employees of Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC v. Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor
Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. v. Impax Laboratories, Inc.
Downing
Former Employees of Barry Callebaut v. Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor
Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. And Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited v. Apotex, Inc.
Adams v. United States
Forest Laboratories, Inc. And Ony, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, and Tokyo Tanabe Company, Ltd.
ABBOTT LABORATORIES, AND FOURNIER INDUSTRIE ET SANTÉ AND LABORATOIRES FOURNIER S.A. v. NOVOPHARM LIMITED
Ronald Adams Contractor, Inc. v. United States
Adams
Adams v. Internal Revenue Service
Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corporation v. Shell Oil Company
Adams
Nichols Institute Diagnostics, Inc. v. Scantibodies Clinical Laboratory, Inc.
Jeffrey W. Eisinger v. Federal Labor Relations Authority
Showing 51–75 of 75 rulings · Page 2 of 2
Browse Other Circuits
Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.
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.