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Employment Rulings in the Fifth Circuit

The Fifth Circuit covers the federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 730 published rulings we track here (1970–2026), 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 730 published rulings we track in the Fifth Circuit.

Defendant Win
397 (54%)
Plaintiff Win
117 (16%)
Dismissed
75 (10%)
Mixed Result
74 (10%)
Remanded
55 (8%)
Settlement
12 (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 728 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
336 (46%)

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
182 (25%)

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 182 summary-judgment rulings here, 140 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 42 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
159 (22%)

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

Trial verdict
25 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
12 (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
8 (1%)

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

Other rulings
6 (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 Fifth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Fifth Circuit

Hughes

Aug 7, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

LaFrance

Aug 2, 2023W.D. La.Dismissed

Moore

Aug 2, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Emrit

Jul 31, 2023N.D. Miss.Dismissed

Gates

Jul 27, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Wright

Jul 26, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Roberts

Jul 21, 2023E.D. Tex.Settlement

Freeman

Jun 27, 2023W.D. La.Defendant Win

Crocker

Jun 22, 2023W.D. La.Dismissed

Laborde

Jun 12, 20235th CircuitDismissed

Ettorre

Jun 10, 2023S.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Ash

May 16, 2023W.D. La.Defendant Win

United Natural Foods v. NLRB

Apr 24, 20235th CircuitDefendant Win

Jenkins

Apr 13, 2023N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Troulliet

Apr 11, 2023E.D. La.Dismissed

Tesla

Mar 31, 20235th CircuitDefendant Win

Worrall

Mar 22, 2023N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Oubre

Mar 16, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Clarke

Mar 13, 2023N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Barnes

Feb 16, 2023N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Kunze

Feb 6, 2023N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Bertrand

Jan 23, 2023E.D. La.Settlement

Stewart

Jan 19, 2023M.D. La.Dismissed

Strong

Jan 17, 2023N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Hill

Jan 10, 2023N.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Chamberlain

Jan 3, 2023S.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Nov 22, 2022N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Harrison

Nov 2, 2022E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Blalock

Oct 20, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Layton

Oct 18, 2022N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

McRunells

Oct 13, 2022M.D. La.Defendant Win

Beary

Sep 30, 2022M.D. La.Defendant Win

Sanders

Sep 29, 2022E.D. Tex.Dismissed

United States Department of Labor v. Paccar, Inc. d/b/a Peterbilt Motors Company

Sep 22, 2022E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Adams

Sep 15, 2022W.D. La.Defendant Win

Adams

Sep 12, 2022S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc v. Bakery Confectionery Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 111

Aug 24, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Taylor

Aug 9, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Aug 9, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Jul 29, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Scott

Jul 28, 2022M.D. La.Mixed Result

Fedesna

Jul 27, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Union Pac. RR v. City of Palestine

Jul 22, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Hairston

Jul 20, 2022E.D. La.Defendant Win

Moore

Jul 14, 2022N.D. Miss.Dismissed

McAdams

Jun 23, 2022S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Screening L L C

Jun 15, 2022W.D. La.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Screening, LLC

Jun 15, 2022E.D. La.Remanded

Estrada

Jun 13, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Badon

Jun 10, 2022E.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Showing 101–150 of 730 rulings · Page 3 of 15

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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.