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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. West Virginia Civil Service Commission

Nov 20, 1987S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Anderson's Restaurant of Charlotte, Inc.

Aug 3, 1987W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. FLC & Bros. Rebel, Inc.

Jun 29, 1987W.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Stella Anne Stemer v. Wayne County Department of Health and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jun 3, 19864th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Electrolux Corp.

Jun 26, 1985E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Feb 14, 19844th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Com'n v. Radiator Specialty Co

Mar 10, 19834th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Feb 17, 1983D. Md.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liggett & Myers Incorporated, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liggett & Myers Incorporated

Sep 28, 19824th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wood, Wire, and Metal Lathers Union, Local 11

May 10, 19824th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Board of Education of Baltimore County

Feb 19, 19804th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Marine Oil Service, Inc

Mar 26, 19794th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sheet Metal Workers, International Ass'n, Local No. 122

Nov 24, 1978D. Md.Plaintiff Win

13 Fair empl.prac.cas. 1005, 12 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 11,017 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company

Jun 29, 19764th CircuitDefendant Win

Eeoc v. Loc. 2p, Litho. & Photoengravers Iu

Feb 26, 1976D. Md.Plaintiff Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Appellant, v. GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, Appellee

Jan 22, 19764th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Western Electric Co.

Sep 26, 1974D. Md.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Western Electric Co.

Oct 1, 1973D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Cleveland Mills Co.

Aug 31, 1973W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Showing 1,9011,919 of 1,919 rulings · Page 39 of 39

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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.