Skip to main content

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. Waffle House, Incorporated

Oct 6, 19994th CircuitMixed Result

Capacchione

Sep 9, 1999W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Orkin Exterminating Co.

Sep 1, 1999D. Md.Mixed Result

Sandvik Rock Tools v. NLRB

Aug 16, 19994th CircuitDefendant Win

Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Aug 12, 1999E.D. Va.Defendant Win

NLRB v. Complete Carrier

Aug 10, 19994th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. MCI Telecommunications

Jul 28, 19994th CircuitDefendant Win

Nancy C. Cherry v. Champion International Corporation, Equal Employment Advisory Council, Amicus Curiae

Jul 27, 19994th CircuitDefendant Win

Smith v. Raleigh District of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church

Jul 27, 1999E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Bell Atlantic Cash v. EEOC

Jul 12, 19994th CircuitDismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh

Apr 30, 1999E.D.N.C.Dismissed

NLRB v. Health Management

Mar 11, 19994th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

Mar 10, 1999E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Bear

Feb 11, 1999W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. World Savings & Loan Ass'n

Jan 12, 1999D. Md.Dismissed

NLRB v. D. L. Baker Inc

Dec 1, 19984th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Stark Electric Inc

Nov 30, 19984th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Whiting

Sep 23, 1998E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Sharpe

Aug 25, 1998E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

22 Employee Benefits Cas. 1545, Pens. Plan Guide (Cch) P 23944w

Aug 11, 19984th CircuitRemanded

Schwarz

Aug 7, 1998N.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Nicholas Ex Rel. Nicholas v. Taylor County Board of Education

Jun 10, 1998N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Medeco Security Locks v. NLRB

May 29, 19984th CircuitMixed Result

Bartlett

Apr 29, 1998E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

NLRB v. Bandag, Incorporated

Apr 13, 19984th CircuitDefendant Win

Feb 18, 19984th CircuitMixed Result

Zelaya

Feb 13, 1998E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

NLRB v. DC Mason Builders

Dec 31, 19974th CircuitRemanded

Eldeco, Inc v. NLRB

Dec 29, 19974th CircuitMixed Result

NLRB v. Coca-Cola Bot Co Con

Dec 29, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

Emmons

Oct 20, 1997E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Chung

Oct 20, 1997E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Bannerman

Oct 20, 1997E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

NLRB v. CWI of Maryland Inc

Oct 2, 19974th CircuitMixed Result

Jordan

Sep 22, 1997E.D.N.C.Dismissed

NLRB v. D&D Enterprises

Sep 22, 19974th CircuitMixed Result

Dyncorp/Dynair Corp v. NLRB

Aug 28, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

PB&S Chemical Inc v. NLRB

Aug 26, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Beverly Health

Aug 12, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

Yuasa Exide Inc v. NLRB

Aug 5, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

Performance Friction Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 30, 19974th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, Aero & Naval Systems

Jun 26, 19974th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Lockheed Martin

Jun 26, 19974th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nancy MARTIN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. BLUE CROSS & BLUE SHIELD OF VIRGINIA, INC., Defendant-Appellant

Jun 23, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

Moore

May 29, 1997W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Aluko

Mar 24, 1997W.D.N.C.Dismissed

William E. Mattingly v. Joey's Bar and Grill Joseph Minardi, Iii, and One Unknown Personal Injury Insurance Carrier

Mar 10, 19974th CircuitDefendant Win

Terry A. Williams v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Personnel Management Togo D. West, Jr., Secretary of the Army

Feb 25, 19974th CircuitDismissed

Andrea Nelson v. Watergate at Landmark, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae

Feb 21, 19974th CircuitRemanded

NLRB v. Suzy Curtains

Feb 11, 19974th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

Facing something similar at work?Check your rights — free, private, no sign-up

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.