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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

Jurijus Kadamovas v. John Caraway

Aug 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Jurijus Kadamovas v. John Caraway

Aug 20, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Maglajlic

Aug 19, 2019INNDSettlement

Brown

Aug 12, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Local 702, International Brot v. NLRB

Aug 9, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Local 702, International Brot v. NLRB

Aug 9, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. ABN Building Maintenance

Aug 7, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Taylor-Reeves

Aug 7, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Adams

Jul 23, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Monroe

Jul 19, 2019E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Matthew Carello v. Aurora Policeman Credit Union

Jul 15, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jul 15, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Matthew Carello v. Aurora Policeman Credit Union

Jul 15, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Craig

Jul 11, 2019N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Beverly

Jul 10, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Chicago Area I.B. of T. Health and Welfare Trust Fund v. Olympic Wholesale Produce, Inc.

Jul 9, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Eduarte

Jul 2, 2019N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Melgoza

Jun 14, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Dietrich

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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Fermi Research Alliance, LLC

Jun 11, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Pearson

Jun 10, 2019N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Dominick's Finer Foods, LLC v. UFCW Unions & Employers Midwest Pension Fund

Jun 6, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Pascal

Jun 4, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Jibson

May 29, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

LABR

May 24, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Jahnke

May 24, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Schewitz

May 21, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Mojapelo

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

Nelson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

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

Mlsna

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

LABR

May 10, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Lu Aku v. Chicago Teachers Union

May 1, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Daniel

Apr 29, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Davood

Apr 11, 2019N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Brock Indus. Servs., LLC v. Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am. Constr.

Apr 8, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Brock Industrial Services, LLC v. Laborers' International Union

Apr 8, 20197th CircuitDefendant Win

Choi

Apr 3, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Haack

Apr 2, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Henyard

Mar 28, 2019N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Adama Njie v. Stephanie Dorethy

Mar 28, 20197th CircuitRemanded

Adama Njie v. Stephanie Dorethy

Mar 28, 20197th CircuitRemanded

Adama Njie v. Stephanie Dorethy

Mar 28, 20197th CircuitRemanded

Harbeck

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

Barnes

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

Walsh

Mar 22, 2019S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Rauner

Mar 18, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Local 705 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Pension Fund v. Central Contractors Service, Inc.

Mar 14, 2019N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Trustees of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v. American Mechanical, Inc.

Mar 7, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Pouliot

Mar 6, 2019N.D. Ill.Remanded

International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 17 Pension Fund v. Northwest Mechanical Insulation Co.

Mar 1, 2019N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Showing 501–550 of 1,243 rulings · Page 11 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.