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
Daniel C. Murray v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local 400 Donald Cash Christian Sauter
Ernest Scott v. Mason Coal Company Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
Speciner
Overnite
RGC (USA) Mineral Sands, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Sindram
EEOC v. Waffle House
Carson
Hensley
Union Carbide Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
Rohan
Coastal Lumber Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Fayetteville, Inc.
Hessami
Saunders
Consolidated Diesel Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. News & Observer Publishing Co.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Optical Cable Corp.
National Labor Relations Board,petitioner v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Fayetteville, Incorporated
N&n Contractors, Incorporated v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor
Overnite Trans v. NLRB
Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company v. Lynette Riley Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
Columbia Union College v. John Oliver, Jr.
Graphic Communications International Union, Local 31-N v. Quebecor Printing (USA) Corp.
National Labor Relations Board v. Labor Ready, Incorporated
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mega Contractors, Inc.
National Labor Relations Board v. Mountaineer Steel, Inc.
Hoyle
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Town & Country Toyota, Inc.
Noble
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sears Roebuck & Co.
Adams
Ramada Franchise Systems, Inc. v. Capitol View II Ltd. Partnership Venture
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sara Lee Corporation
EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation
Dorsey Trailers, Incorporated v. National Labor Relations Board
Adams
Radau
USF Red Star, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Samuel Dillard
Peter Ball v. Memphis Bar-B-Q Company, Incorporated, Secretary of Labor, Amicus Curiae
Adams
Local Union No. 666, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Afl-Cio v. Stokes Electrical Service, Incorporated
EEOC v. Browning-Ferris Inc
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Stowe-Pharr Mills, Incorporated, D/B/A Pharr Yarns
EEOC v. Stowe-Pharr Mills
NLRB v. Queensboro Steel
Weeks
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina Sacred Heart Cathedral
EEOC v. Roman Catholic Dio
Showing 701–750 of 829 rulings · Page 15 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.