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 829 published rulings we track here (1976–2026), 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 829 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 825 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 159 summary-judgment rulings here, 112 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 47 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
Williams v. American Lumpers Services, LLC
Royall
Jackson v. Henderson County Hospital Corporation
Adams
Martin
Pate
Adams
Terry
Castro
Raktabutr
Galleher
White
Benitez Gonzalez v. O. J. Smith Farms, Inc.
Bocangel
Montgomery v. Crothall Healthcare, Inc.
Duffey
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Enoch Pratt Free Library
Laufer
Allen
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Joe's Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que, Inc.
Nguyen
Cummins
Deskins
Teresa Tolliver v. Eleven Slade Apartment Corporation
Rios
Bugoni
Parker
Roy
Nnorom
Baker
Mauro
Mack Trucks, Inc. v. International Union United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW
Altaweel
Lillard
Chaten
American Federation of Government Employees v. Office of Special Counsel
Marzett
Barlow
Mayo
Thomas Harwood, III v. American Airlines, Inc.
Throckmorton
Hughley
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Joe's Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que, Inc.
April Hill v. Employee Resource Group, LLC
April Hill v. Employee Resource Group, LLC
Wright
Palmer v. W&T Travel Services, LLC
Limes
Smith v. Potomac Electric Power Company
Waters
Showing 301–350 of 829 rulings · Page 7 of 17
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.