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 (1973–2026), 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 1,919 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 1,893 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 305 summary-judgment rulings here, 200 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 105 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
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. News & Observer Publishing Co.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Optical Cable Corp.
Register
Simon
National Labor Relations Board,petitioner v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Fayetteville, Incorporated
Miller v. BAS Technical Employment Placement Co.
NLRB v. Pepsi Cola Bottling
The Baltimore Sun Company v. National Labor Relations Board,respondent
Baltimore Sun Co v. NLRB
N&n Contractors, Incorporated v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor
NLRB v. Pepsi Cola Bottling
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
Mid-Mountain
Columbia Union College v. John Oliver, Jr.
Commercial Union Insurance v. Detyens Shipyard, Inc.
Ritter
Graphic Communications International Union, Local 31-N v. Quebecor Printing (USA) Corp.
Graphic Communications International Union, Local 31-N v. Quebecor Printing (Usa) Corporation
National Labor Relations Board v. Labor Ready, Incorporated
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mega Contractors, Inc.
Adams
Adams
National Labor Relations Board v. Mountaineer Steel, Inc.
Hoyle
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Town & Country Toyota, Inc.
Noble
Charles R. Kerns v. Consolidation Coal Company Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor
Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Employee Resource Management, Inc.
Liberty Mut. Ins. v. EMPLOYEE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Adams
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sears Roebuck & Co.
WXGI, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Carolina Holdings, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board
Vellone
Adams
Ramada Franchise Systems, Inc. v. Capitol View II Ltd. Partnership Venture
Overnite Transportation Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
Eagle Energy, Incorporated v. Secretary of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission
Lloyd
Stovall
Spitzer
Spitzer
Ricks
Bradley
Miller v. BAS Technical Employment Placement Co.
First Union Corp. v. American Cas. Co. of Reading
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sara Lee Corporation
EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation
Grinnell Fire Protection Systems Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
Showing 1,701–1,750 of 1,919 rulings · Page 35 of 39
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.