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 1,632 published rulings we track here (1973–2026), the breakdowns below show how they were decided. They describe published opinions only — not the odds of any particular situation.
Of the 1,632 published rulings we track in the Fourth Circuit.
A workplace lawsuit moves through stages, and a ruling can end it at any of them. Here is where the 1,620 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 304 summary-judgment rulings here, 188 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 116 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.
Browse rulings from courts in each state the Fourth Circuit covers.
Island Creek Coal Company v. Dennis E. Compton Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
National Union Fire Insurance v. Rite Aid of South Carolina, Inc.
Natl Union Fire Ins v. CSX Corporation
Adams
Canaday
NLRB v. Hartley Oil Co Inc
Adams
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Express Corp.
United States Postal Service v. American Postal Workers Union, Afl-Cio
Adams
Franklin
Flexsys America, L.P. v. Local Union No. 12610
United Mine Workers Of America, International Union v. Martinka Coal Company
Dillard's
American Crane Corp v. NLRB
Smith v. First Union National
Stonehenge
Hicks Ex Rel. Hicks v. HALIFAX COUNTY BD. EDUC.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, Incorporated
Capacchione
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Orkin Exterminating Co.
Sandvik Rock Tools v. NLRB
Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
NLRB v. Complete Carrier
EEOC v. MCI Telecommunications
Nancy C. Cherry v. Champion International Corporation, Equal Employment Advisory Council, Amicus Curiae
Smith v. Raleigh District of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church
Bell Atlantic Cash v. EEOC
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh
NLRB v. Health Management
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Bear
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. World Savings & Loan Ass'n
NLRB v. D. L. Baker Inc
NLRB v. Stark Electric Inc
Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Whiting
Sharpe
Schwarz
Nicholas Ex Rel. Nicholas v. Taylor County Board of Education
Medeco Security Locks v. NLRB
Bartlett
NLRB v. Bandag, Incorporated
Zelaya
NLRB v. DC Mason Builders
Eldeco, Inc v. NLRB
NLRB v. Coca-Cola Bot Co Con
Emmons
Chung
Bannerman
Showing 1,501–1,550 of 1,632 rulings · Page 31 of 33
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.