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 829 published rulings we track here (1976–2026), 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 829 published rulings we track in the Fourth 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 825 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 159 summary-judgment rulings here, 112 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 47 let the worker’s claims continue.
An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.
A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.
The two sides resolved the dispute by agreement, sometimes with court approval. Most settlements are private and never show up in published opinions.
A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.
Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.
Top Claim Types
Top Employers
States in This Circuit
Browse rulings from courts in each state the Fourth Circuit covers.
Recent Rulings in the Fourth Circuit
Adams
Hemphill
Adams
Trace
MEC Construction, Inc v. National Labor Relations Board
James Heiko v. Colombo Savings Bank, F.S.B., Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Supporting
Tom Colucci v. Agfa Corporation Severance Pay Plan
Kimberly Miles v. Dell, Incorporated, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Supporting
Williams v. United States Department of Labor
Smith v. Westvaco Corp. Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Ass'n Long Term Disability Plan
Jadali
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Navy Federal Credit Union
ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union v. Mote
National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Porter Hayden Co.
Lombard Canada, Ltd. v. Johnson
General Electric Capital Corp. v. Union Corp. Financial Group Inc.
TNT Logistics of North America, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Venugopal
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Circuit City Stores, Inc.
Pace
National Labor Relations Board v. Air Contact Transport Incorporated
National Union Fire Insurance v. Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co.
Virginia International Terminals, Inc. v. Benny R. Edwards Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
Mail Contractors of America, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Media General Operations, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Seafarers International Union
Gary Lee James Amburn v. National Labor Relations Board, and Communications Workers of America Bellsouth Telecommunications, Incorporated, Intervenors
Pulley
Performance Friction Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
Jadali
Mining Energy, Incorporated v. Director, Office Of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department Of Labor
Kress
Paul Kress v. Food Employers Labor Relations Association
Nanette
Colin
Hill
Venugopal
Government Employees Insurance v. Google, Inc.
United States Department of Labor v. North Carolina Growers Ass'n, Inc.
United States Department Of Labor v. North Carolina Growers Association
CSX Hotels, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
National Taxpayers Union v. United States Social Security Administration
National Taxpayers Union v. United States Social Security Administration
Murray
Melvin Sidwell v. Virginia International Terminals, Inc. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
Kess
Matthew Dixon v. Coburg Dairy, Incorporated, Equal Employment Advisory Council, Amicus Curiae
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Greenbriar Pontiac-Oldsmobile-GMC Trucks-Kia, Inc.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Warfield-Rohr Casket Company, Incorporated
Showing 601–650 of 829 rulings · Page 13 of 17
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.