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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

Coyer

Sep 28, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Bentson

Sep 27, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Bryant

Sep 27, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Sep 26, 2022S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Chilcutt

Sep 26, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

In re Outpatient Medical Center Employee Antitrust Litigation

Sep 26, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Hill

Sep 23, 2022S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Scott

Sep 19, 2022INNDPlaintiff Win

Jacinta Downing v. Abbott Laboratories

Sep 12, 20227th CircuitDefendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Total Home Restoration 1 a/k/a THR 1, Inc.

Sep 6, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 268 v. Enskat Mechanical, LLC

Sep 1, 2022S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Central Laborers' Pension Welfare and Annuity Funds v. Edwards Kamadulski, LLC

Aug 30, 2022S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Hensiek

Aug 24, 2022S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Trevino

Aug 24, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gull

Aug 22, 2022INNDDefendant Win

Trustees of the Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund v. Correct Construction, Inc.

Aug 18, 2022INNDMixed Result

Edwards

Aug 17, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Kraai

Aug 11, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Anderson

Aug 9, 2022INNDDismissed

Butler, Jerry v. Eschalante, Jim

Aug 4, 2022W.D. Wis.Remanded

Stevenson

Aug 3, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Adams

Aug 1, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Adamczyk

Jul 22, 2022S.D. Ill.Dismissed

White, Dustin v. Boardman, Adam

Jul 20, 2022W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Rizwan

Jul 13, 2022INNDMixed Result

Terry Paulsen v. Abbott Laboratories

Jul 8, 20227th CircuitDefendant Win

Pagan Hernandez v. Milwaukee Composites Inc

Jul 6, 2022E.D. Wis.Settlement

Tousignant

Jun 30, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Jun 30, 20227th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Durham v. Lake County Indiana

Jun 29, 2022INNDPlaintiff Win

Walsh

Jun 29, 2022S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Trustees of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v. Drive Construction, Inc.

Jun 29, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Hickman

Jun 28, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Satterfield

Jun 23, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. DT Leasing, LLC

Jun 15, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Martin J. Zielinski v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry

Jun 13, 20227th CircuitDefendant Win

Iannotti

Jun 6, 2022S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Woznicki

May 27, 2022E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Porter

May 27, 2022INNDDefendant Win

EEOC v. American Flange and Grief, Inc.

May 26, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Davis

May 24, 2022INNDDefendant Win

Seneca, Dean v. Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc.

May 23, 2022W.D. Wis.Settlement

Pryor

May 20, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, AFL-CIO v. Grosshening, Inc

May 17, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Gilbert v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

May 17, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Stephenson

May 17, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Retirement Plan For Employees Represented By Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 18 v. MM Mechanical LLC

May 12, 2022E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Calo

May 11, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Malas

May 10, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Petroff Companies, Inc. v. Local Union 520, International Union of Operating Engineers

May 5, 2022S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Browse Other 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.