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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 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.

Defendant Win
362 (44%)
Plaintiff Win
144 (17%)
Dismissed
118 (14%)
Mixed Result
102 (12%)
Remanded
61 (7%)
Settlement
42 (5%)

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.

Appeal
320 (39%)

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
159 (19%)

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.

Motion to dismiss
259 (31%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
22 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
41 (5%)

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
21 (3%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
3 (0%)

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

Volvo Group North America, LLC v. International Union United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW ("UAW")

Mar 31, 2020W.D. Va.Dismissed

Adams

Mar 31, 2020D.S.C.Mixed Result

Gagne

Mar 27, 2020D.S.C.Defendant Win

Hayes

Mar 23, 2020D.S.C.Mixed Result

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ecology Services, Inc.

Mar 19, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dolgencorp, LLC

Mar 18, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Hart

Mar 13, 2020W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

MacBagito

Mar 10, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Kenan

Mar 2, 2020W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Scott

Feb 27, 2020N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Bocangel

Feb 21, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Fisher

Jan 22, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Ramadan

Jan 17, 2020E.D. Va.Dismissed

Brooks

Jan 16, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Bagwell

Jan 15, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

CVS

Jan 14, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Trustees of the Ironworkers Local Union No. 16 Pension Plan v. Bryant Concrete Construction, Inc.

Jan 10, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Crisell Seguin v. US Department of Labor

Jan 9, 20204th CircuitDismissed

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION v. 1618 CONCEPTS, INC.

Jan 7, 2020M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Hayes

Dec 11, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Sellers

Nov 6, 2019D.S.C.Mixed Result

Lewis

Nov 5, 2019N.D. W. Va.Remanded

Gittens

Nov 5, 2019W.D.N.C.Dismissed

EEOC v. Baltimore County

Oct 28, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Zatezalo

Oct 16, 2019S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Amaya Diaz v. Pho Eatery, Inc.

Oct 11, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Sep 27, 2019D.S.C.Mixed Result

Trustees of the Ironworkers Local Union No. 16 Pension Plan v. Ole Men & Sons, LLC

Sep 20, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Trustees of the Iron Workers Local Union No. 5 and Iron Workers Employers Association Employee Pension Trust v. Moxy Misc. Metals, LLC

Sep 19, 2019D. Md.Settlement

Johnson v. Helion Technologies, Inc.

Sep 12, 2019D. Md.Settlement

Jones

Aug 30, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Skibo

Aug 22, 2019W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

United Mine Workers of America International Union v. The Monongalia County Coal Company

Aug 8, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Envi-El

Aug 8, 2019E.D.N.C.Dismissed

McBride

Aug 8, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Escobar

Jul 24, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Membreno

Jul 23, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Holden

Jul 16, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Lay

Jul 1, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. US Department of Labor

Jun 13, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

Biniaris

Jun 11, 2019E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Laborers' International Union of North America Local 1353 v. West Virginia American Water Company

May 17, 2019S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Keith Carroll v. Northwest Federal Credit Union

May 13, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

LTD

Mar 18, 2019E.D. Va.Dismissed

The Humane Society of the US v. National Union Fire Insurance

Mar 15, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

Gateway Residences at Exch., LLC v. Ill. Union Ins. Co.

Feb 28, 20194th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Dep't of Labor v. Fire & Safety Investigation Consulting Servs., LLC

Feb 8, 20194th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hyde

Jan 29, 2019N.D. W. Va.Remanded

Adams

Nov 13, 2018S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Big Lots Stores, Inc.

Sep 27, 2018N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Showing 351–400 of 829 rulings · Page 8 of 17

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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.