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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

NLRB v. Retro Environmental, Inc.

Sep 19, 20184th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Amanda Shoemaker v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

Aug 6, 20184th CircuitDefendant Win

Crisell Seguin v. US Department of Labor

Jul 10, 20184th CircuitDismissed

Carroll

Jun 25, 2018E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Bakery & Confectionary Union & Indus. Int'l Pension Fund v. Just Born II, Inc.

Apr 26, 20184th CircuitDefendant Win

Bruce Levine v. Employers Ins. Co. of Wausau

Apr 12, 20184th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Maryland Insurance Administration

Jan 5, 20184th CircuitRemanded

Acosta

Dec 29, 2017S.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Collins

Dec 7, 2017S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Foster

Nov 3, 2017S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. McLeod Health, Inc.

Sep 21, 2017D.S.C.Defendant Win

Fraternal Order of Police Metro Transit Police Labor Committee, Inc. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Aug 30, 2017E.D. Va.Dismissed

Glaspell

Aug 10, 2017N.D. W. Va.Remanded

Henry

Aug 3, 2017D.S.C.Defendant Win

Rockman

Jul 17, 2017D. Md.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Consol Energy, Inc.

Jun 12, 20174th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dragulescu

May 15, 2017E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Baltimore/Washington Construction & Public Employee Laborer's District Council v. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

Mar 23, 2017D. Md.Mixed Result

International Union, United Mine Workers v. Monongalia County Coal Co.

Mar 6, 2017N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Girma v. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Feb 27, 20174th CircuitDismissed

William Smith v. Department of Labor

Jan 9, 20174th CircuitDefendant Win

Jaradat

Nov 7, 20164th CircuitDefendant Win

Adam Bickham v. Robert Stevenson

Nov 4, 20164th CircuitDismissed

Palmetto Prince George Operating, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 1, 20164th CircuitDefendant Win

Horne

Oct 4, 20164th CircuitDismissed

Melanie Lawson v. Union County Clerk of Court

Jul 8, 20164th CircuitRemanded

Steamfitters Local Union No. 602 of the United Ass'n of Journeymen v. Aleut Facilities Support Services, LLC

Jul 6, 2016E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Barbara Curry v. Adam Steifer

Jun 28, 20164th CircuitDismissed

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dimensions Healthcare System

May 27, 2016D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Deltek, Inc. v. Department of Labor, Administrative Review Board

May 20, 20164th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Bluefield Hospital Co.

May 6, 20164th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hinton

May 5, 2016E.D. Va.Dismissed

Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 26, 20164th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Maritime Autowash, Inc.

Apr 25, 20164th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Guertler

Mar 18, 2016W.D. Va.Defendant Win

Pac Tell Group, Inc. v. NLRB

Mar 15, 20164th CircuitDefendant Win

Samuel Calderon v. GEICO General Insurance Company

Dec 23, 20154th CircuitMixed Result

Pac Tell Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 23, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Pessoa Construction Co.

Dec 21, 20154th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Rose Lorenzo v. Prime Communications, L.P.

Nov 24, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

Huntington Ingalls Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 23, 20154th CircuitMixed Result

Johnson v. Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union

Nov 23, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

Ervin

Sep 21, 2015D. Md.Defendant Win

Intertape Polymer Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 8, 20154th CircuitMixed Result

Freeman

Sep 3, 2015D. Md.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Consol Energy, Inc.

Aug 21, 2015N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Brian Smith v. Clark/Smoot/Russell

Aug 10, 20154th CircuitMixed Result

Adams

Aug 5, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

Janeene Jensen-Graf v. Chesapeake Employers' Insurance Company

Jun 26, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP

Jun 26, 20154th CircuitDefendant Win

Showing 401–450 of 829 rulings · Page 9 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.