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Employment Rulings in the Fourth Circuit

The Fourth Circuit covers the federal courts in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,919 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 1,919 published rulings we track in the Fourth Circuit.

Defendant Win
802 (42%)
Dismissed
356 (19%)
Mixed Result
284 (15%)
Plaintiff Win
276 (14%)
Remanded
165 (9%)
Settlement
36 (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 1,893 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
879 (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
305 (16%)

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 305 summary-judgment rulings here, 200 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 105 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
606 (32%)

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

Trial verdict
46 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
34 (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
13 (1%)

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

Other rulings
10 (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 Fourth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Fourth Circuit

Jenkins

Oct 6, 2023D.S.C.Defendant Win

McElroy

Sep 28, 2023D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

El Mahdy v. Morgan State University

Sep 28, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Spiller-Holtzman

Sep 27, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Orellana

Sep 25, 2023D. Md.Settlement

Aarow Electrical Solutions, LLC v. TriCore Systems, LLC

Sep 21, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Proctor

Sep 15, 2023D. Md.Remanded

Deutsch

Sep 11, 2023S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Rosero

Sep 11, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Blackmon

Sep 7, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Kelly

Sep 5, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Rettig

Sep 1, 2023N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Felipe Gonzalez v. Mogotillo Restaurant, LLC

Aug 30, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Harris

Aug 29, 2023D.S.C.Defendant Win

NLRB v. Pain Relief Centers P.A.

Aug 22, 20234th CircuitMixed Result

Pain Relief Centers P.A. v. NLRB

Aug 22, 20234th CircuitRemanded

Scott

Aug 11, 2023W.D. Va.Mixed Result

Jackson v. American Electronic Warfare Associates, Inc.

Aug 10, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Mills

Aug 3, 2023S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

South Carolina State Ports Authority v. NLRB

Jul 28, 20234th CircuitDefendant Win

MCDONALD

Jul 28, 2023M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

W.G./Welch Mechanical Contractors, LLC v. International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers, Local Union 100-Sheet Metal Division

Jul 28, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Kennedy v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Jul 24, 2023E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Dixon

Jul 19, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Fernandez

Jul 19, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

U.S. Department of Labor v. Serenity Home Healthcare LLC

Jul 14, 2023E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Speight

Jul 12, 2023E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Studco Building Systems US, LLC v. 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union

Jul 7, 2023E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Key Management Partners, Inc.

Jul 5, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Greatwide Dedicated Transport II, LLC v. United States Department of Labor

Jun 30, 20234th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Melada

Jun 28, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Golden Entertainment, Inc.

Jun 22, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Marvin Gomez v. Virginia Employment Commission

Jun 21, 20234th CircuitDefendant Win

BioConvergence LLC v. Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.

Jun 7, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Brinkman

Jun 1, 2023D. Md.Settlement

Beall

May 4, 2023N.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Panowicz

Apr 28, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Oliver

Apr 26, 2023D.S.C.Defendant Win

Faulkenberry

Apr 25, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Mallory

Apr 20, 2023D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Pajak

Mar 31, 2023N.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Frank

Mar 31, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Hunt

Mar 31, 2023D. Md.Remanded

Gifford

Mar 29, 2023D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Gifford

Mar 29, 2023D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Nordman

Mar 23, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Piechocki

Mar 22, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Yomi

Mar 21, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Renibe

Mar 21, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. v. Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Mar 21, 2023D. Md.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.