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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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Spencer Gifts, LLC

Sep 27, 2019W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Nikole Hunter v. Government Employees Insurance

Sep 27, 20194th CircuitMixed Result

The Monongalia County Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America, International Union

Sep 25, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

London

Sep 25, 2019D. Md.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Appalachian Power Company

Sep 24, 2019W.D. Va.Mixed Result

Allen

Sep 24, 2019D.S.C.Defendant Win

The Monongalia County Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America, International Union

Sep 23, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Trustees of the Ironworkers Local Union No. 16 Pension Plan v. Ole Men & Sons, LLC

Sep 20, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Behram

Sep 20, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Trustees of the Iron Workers Local Union No. 5 and Iron Workers Employers Association Employee Pension Trust v. Moxy Misc. Metals, LLC

Sep 19, 2019D. Md.Settlement

The Harrison County Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America, International Union

Sep 18, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Milo

Sep 17, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Johnson v. Helion Technologies, Inc.

Sep 12, 2019D. Md.Settlement

Su, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor v. Medical Staffing of America, LLC

Sep 11, 2019E.D. Va.Defendant Win

EEOC v. M&T Bank

Sep 10, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Jiggetts

Sep 9, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 77 v. DUKE UNIVERSITY

Sep 6, 2019M.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

The Monongalia County Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America, International Union

Sep 5, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Trump

Sep 3, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Jones

Aug 30, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Alton Adams v. David Pritchard

Aug 23, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

Skibo

Aug 22, 2019W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Sheet Metal Workers Local 100 (Baltimore Area) Health and Welfare Fund v. R.E.L. Schneider Co., Inc.

Aug 20, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Trump

Aug 20, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

BOUFFARD

Aug 16, 2019M.D.N.C.Dismissed

Doe

Aug 15, 2019W.D. Va.Dismissed

United Mine Workers of America International Union v. The Monongalia County Coal Company

Aug 8, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Envi-El

Aug 8, 2019E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Walker

Aug 8, 2019D. Md.Remanded

McBride

Aug 8, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Badalato

Aug 6, 2019E.D.N.C.Remanded

Bills

Jul 31, 2019S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Maney

Jul 24, 2019D.S.C.Defendant Win

Escobar

Jul 24, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Laster

Jul 16, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Holden

Jul 16, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Bureau of the Census

Jul 16, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Presson

Jul 11, 2019E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Schnabel Foundation Company v. National Union Fire Insurance

Jul 10, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

Mowery

Jul 2, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Lay

Jul 1, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Wilbur Ross

Jun 26, 20194th CircuitRemanded

Guadalupe Diaz-Velasquez v. William Barr

Jun 25, 20194th CircuitPlaintiff Win

La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Wilbur Ross

Jun 25, 20194th CircuitRemanded

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. US Department of Labor

Jun 13, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

Biniaris

Jun 11, 2019E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Mayhew

Jun 10, 2019S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Kenan

Jun 3, 2019W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Adams

May 28, 2019W.D. Va.Defendant Win

Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC v. United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO/CLC

May 20, 2019S.D. W. Va.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.