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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 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.

Defendant Win
362 (44%)
Plaintiff Win
144 (17%)
Dismissed
118 (14%)
Mixed Result
102 (12%)
Remanded
61 (7%)
Settlement
42 (5%)

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.

Appeal
320 (39%)

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
159 (19%)

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.

Motion to dismiss
259 (31%)

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

Trial verdict
22 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
41 (5%)

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
21 (3%)

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

Other rulings
3 (0%)

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

Riesbeck Food Market v. NLRB

Jul 19, 19964th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. AMFM of Summers Cnty

Jun 20, 19964th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Southern Ohio Coal v. NLRB

Jun 5, 19964th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kinney Shoe Corp.

Feb 14, 1996W.D. Va.Defendant Win

18 Employee Benefits Cas. 2931, Pens. Plan Guide P 23,905 Delma C. Gentry v. Ashland Oil, Inc.

Dec 20, 19944th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lutheran Family Services

Dec 5, 1994E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lutheran Family Services

Aug 31, 1994E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Watergate at Landmark Condominium

May 24, 19944th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Richard L. Armstrong v. Lance, Incorporated, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

May 9, 19944th CircuitDefendant Win

Newton

Jan 12, 1994W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Clay Printing Company

Jan 6, 19944th CircuitDefendant Win

Pamela E. Long v. Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Incorporated, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

Nov 9, 19934th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pizza Hut of Roanoke Rapids, Incorporated

Mar 24, 19934th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Northwest Structural Components, Inc.

Feb 24, 1993M.D.N.C.Remanded

David B. Stiles v. General Electric Company, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

Feb 12, 19934th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Marion Motel Associates, A/K/A Park Inn International

May 5, 19924th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERICAN & EFIRD MILLS, INC., Defendant-Appellee

Apr 27, 19924th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Techalloy Maryland, Inc.

Mar 31, 19924th CircuitDefendant Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CLAY PRINTING COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee

Mar 2, 19924th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Alfred Lee Downing v. Gilbert/robinson, Incorporated, T/a Darryl's

Sep 17, 19914th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Service News Company

Mar 23, 19904th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Techalloy Maryland, Inc.

Jan 31, 19904th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Harold Williams, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mallinckrodt, Inc.

Dec 6, 19894th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ithaca Industries, Inc.

Jun 8, 19884th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. West Virginia Civil Service Commission

Nov 20, 1987S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. FLC & Bros. Rebel, Inc.

Jun 29, 1987W.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liggett & Myers Incorporated, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liggett & Myers Incorporated

Sep 28, 19824th CircuitMixed Result

Eeoc v. Loc. 2p, Litho. & Photoengravers Iu

Feb 26, 1976D. Md.Plaintiff Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Appellant, v. GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Appellee

Jan 22, 19764th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 801–829 of 829 rulings · Page 17 of 17

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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.