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Employment Rulings in the Seventh Circuit

The Seventh Circuit covers the federal courts in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 2,293 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 2,293 published rulings we track in the Seventh Circuit.

Defendant Win
994 (43%)
Plaintiff Win
418 (18%)
Mixed Result
401 (17%)
Dismissed
288 (13%)
Remanded
154 (7%)
Settlement
38 (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 2,252 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
987 (44%)

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
465 (21%)

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 465 summary-judgment rulings here, 273 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 191 let the worker’s claims continue; the rest resolved in other ways.

Motion to dismiss
632 (28%)

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

Trial verdict
60 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
35 (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
34 (2%)

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

Other rulings
39 (2%)

Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.

States in This Circuit

Browse rulings from courts in each state the Seventh Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Seventh Circuit

Lisa Johnson v. Amazon.com Services LLC

Jun 9, 20267th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Penske Truck Leasing, LP v. Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Pensi

May 29, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Kathleen Hayes v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago

May 28, 20267th CircuitMixed Result

Kellie Wilson v. AIM Specialty Health

May 27, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Alma Sanchez v. El Milagro, Inc.

May 27, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Alma Sanchez v. El Milagro, Inc.

May 27, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Alma Sanchez v. El Milagro, Inc.

May 27, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Darell Burton v. Will County Sheriff's Merit Commission

May 22, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Dored Shiba v. Markwayne Mullin

May 5, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Martaneze Johnson v. Bosman Trucking, Inc.

Apr 2, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Renee Stingley v. Laci Transport Inc.

Apr 2, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

John Gregg v. Central Transport LLC

Apr 1, 20267th CircuitMixed Result

Joshua Harris v. W6LS, Inc.

Mar 31, 20267th CircuitMixed Result

Griffith Foods International Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburg

Mar 16, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Latosha Bowlin v. Board of Directors, Judah Christian School

Mar 6, 20267th CircuitDefendant Win

Shareef Childs v. Cheryl Webster

Mar 4, 20267th CircuitDismissed

Whitelaw

Dec 29, 2025E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Burton

Dec 22, 2025C.D. Ill.Dismissed

Dec 22, 2025W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Karl Rabenhorst v. Kristi L. Noem

Dec 22, 20257th CircuitDefendant Win

Dec 18, 2025W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Gardipee

Dec 17, 2025E.D. Wis.Dismissed

DAVIS

Dec 15, 2025S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Men

Dec 4, 2025E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

MALLORQUI-RUSCALLEDA

Dec 2, 2025S.D. Ind.Dismissed

Fairley

Nov 26, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Nov 26, 2025E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Nov 25, 2025INNDDefendant Win

BURCH

Nov 25, 2025S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Educators for Excellence, Inc.

Nov 19, 20257th CircuitDefendant Win

Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Educators for Excellence, Inc.

Nov 19, 20257th CircuitDefendant Win

Muzzarelli

Nov 18, 2025C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Nov 17, 2025W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Muniz

Nov 7, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Collins

Nov 7, 2025N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Mollett

Nov 6, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Herr

Oct 30, 2025E.D. Wis.Remanded

Oct 28, 2025C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Marigny

Oct 27, 2025E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Oct 27, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gosse

Oct 24, 2025N.D. Ill.Remanded

Whitten

Oct 23, 2025INNDDefendant Win

Oct 23, 2025C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Danahy

Oct 22, 2025N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Oct 20, 2025S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

Khan

Oct 14, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Perkins, Robin v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin

Oct 9, 2025W.D. Wis.Dismissed

SuperValu, Inc. v. UFCW Unions and Employers Midwest Pension Fund

Oct 9, 20257th CircuitDefendant Win

Mallett

Oct 7, 2025E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Watson

Oct 7, 2025S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

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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.