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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 1,243 published rulings we track here (1975–2026), 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 1,243 published rulings we track in the Seventh Circuit.

Defendant Win
620 (50%)
Plaintiff Win
271 (22%)
Mixed Result
152 (12%)
Dismissed
119 (10%)
Remanded
64 (5%)
Settlement
17 (1%)

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 1,238 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
471 (38%)

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
307 (25%)

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 307 summary-judgment rulings here, 203 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 104 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
347 (28%)

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

Trial verdict
43 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
19 (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
39 (3%)

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

Other rulings
12 (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 Seventh Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Seventh Circuit

Dietrich

Feb 11, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Marquelle Smith v. Herbert Adams

Feb 11, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

Charles Curry v. Revolution Laboratories, LLC

Feb 10, 20207th CircuitRemanded

Jones

Feb 5, 2020INNDPlaintiff Win

TURENTINE

Feb 4, 2020S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

ADM

Jan 29, 2020S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Winkfield

Jan 24, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Johnson v. Diakon Logistics

Jan 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Berrios

Jan 21, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Walmart Stores East, L.P.

Jan 16, 2020W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Central Laborers' Pension, Welfare and Annuity Funds v. Wyandotte Corp.

Jan 13, 2020S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Wisconsin Laborers Pension Fund v. The Bristol Group, LLC

Jan 10, 2020W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Howell

Jan 10, 2020S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Cover, Jr. v. OSF Healthcare Systems

Jan 9, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Payton

Jan 8, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Mullens, Chad v. Adams County Government

Jan 6, 2020W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1 American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO v. Board Of Education City Of Chicago

Jan 3, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

University of Chicago v. NLRB

Dec 17, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

University of Chicago v. NLRB

Dec 17, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

King, Zeb v. Trek Travel, LLC

Dec 12, 2019W.D. Wis.Settlement

Singer

Dec 3, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Campise

Nov 26, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Martin

Nov 22, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Cabak, Allan v. JELD-WEN, Inc.

Nov 15, 2019W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Hernandez

Nov 13, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Nov 7, 2019W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Meyer

Oct 9, 2019C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Perkins

Oct 8, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Alton

Oct 3, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Antlitz

Sep 30, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Snyder

Sep 28, 2019C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Taylor

Sep 27, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Torzewski

Sep 27, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Garrick

Sep 25, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Maurice Buford v. Laborers' International Union

Sep 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Maurice Buford v. Laborers' International Union

Sep 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Maurice Buford v. Laborers' International Union

Sep 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Maurice Buford v. Laborers' International Union

Sep 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Hickey

Sep 17, 2019C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Donaldson

Sep 17, 2019C.D. Ill.Settlement

Williams v. American College of Education

Sep 16, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Morris

Sep 13, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Morris

Sep 13, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Young

Sep 11, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Jordan

Sep 9, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Downing

Sep 5, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO v. Landscape Consultants, Inc.

Aug 30, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

McNeal

Aug 28, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Mlsna, Mark v. Union Pacific Railroad

Aug 23, 2019W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Morris

Aug 22, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Showing 451–500 of 1,243 rulings · Page 10 of 25

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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.