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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

Janine Adams v. Us Airways

Aug 29, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hickory Park Furniture Galleries, Inc.

Aug 5, 2011W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

FLRA

Jul 26, 20114th CircuitRemanded

Local

Jul 22, 2011D. Md.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Diversified Enterprise, Inc.

Jul 13, 20114th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Canada

Jul 6, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Thompson Contracting, Grading, Paving, & Utilities, Inc.

Jun 17, 2011E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Romero

Jun 9, 2011E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Mills

May 24, 2011E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Adams

May 11, 2011D. Md.Defendant Win

Hunter

May 9, 2011E.D. Va.Dismissed

Syron

May 5, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Endoscopic Microsurgery Associates. P.A.

May 5, 2011D. Md.Mixed Result

Solis

May 4, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Hartman

Apr 29, 2011S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Cepada

Apr 28, 2011D. Md.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Xerxes Corp.

Apr 26, 20114th CircuitMixed Result

Employers Council on Flexible Compensation v. Kenneth Feltman

Apr 20, 20114th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Apr 6, 20114th CircuitMixed Result

Bush

Mar 30, 2011S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

ACLU

Mar 28, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Sheet Metal Workers International Ass'n, Local Union No. 33 v. Beckley Mechanical, Inc.

Mar 23, 2011S.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

In Re Family Dollar FLSA Litigation

Mar 22, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Mar 9, 20114th CircuitDismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Cromer Food Services, Inc.

Mar 3, 20114th CircuitRemanded

Williams v. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY BD. OF GOV.

Mar 2, 2011N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Randstad

Feb 23, 2011D. Md.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Interbake Foods, LLC

Feb 22, 20114th CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. McElroy Coal Co.

Feb 18, 20114th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority v. Local 689, Amalgamated Transit Union

Feb 17, 2011D. Md.Remanded

Curley

Jan 28, 20114th CircuitDefendant Win

Barbour

Jan 28, 20114th CircuitRemanded

Barbour

Jan 27, 20114th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Jan 26, 20114th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Inc.

Jan 21, 2011D. Md.Defendant Win

In Re Dollar General Stores Flsa Litigation

Jan 19, 2011E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Bufford

Dec 10, 2010E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Geithner

Nov 30, 2010W.D. Va.Dismissed

Williamson

Nov 29, 2010E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Vaeth

Nov 23, 20104th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rite Aid Corp.

Nov 10, 2010D. Md.Mixed Result

De Guzman v. NIH Federal Credit Union

Oct 25, 20104th CircuitDefendant Win

Ocon-Parada

Oct 25, 20104th CircuitDismissed

Guzman

Oct 25, 20104th CircuitDefendant Win

Harty

Oct 13, 2010E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Saunders

Oct 7, 20104th CircuitDefendant Win

Van Valen v. Employee Welfare Benefits Committee Northrop Grumman Corp.

Oct 6, 2010W.D. Va.Defendant Win

Harman

Sep 17, 2010E.D. Va.Mixed Result

National Labor College, Inc. v. Hillier Group Architecture New Jersey, Inc.

Sep 14, 2010D. Md.Mixed Result

Akinro

Aug 27, 20104th CircuitDefendant 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.