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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

Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. Custom Curbs Inc

May 5, 2022C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Atkins

May 3, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Griffin

Apr 28, 2022C.D. Ill.Dismissed

Olsson

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

Gleghorn

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

Blue

Apr 19, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Bowers, Steven v. County Of Taylor

Apr 14, 2022W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Franklin

Apr 14, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Shelton

Apr 7, 2022S.D. Ill.Remanded

Rice

Apr 7, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Bartels

Apr 6, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Cynor

Apr 6, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Penske Truck Leasing Co., L.P. v. Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Plan

Apr 6, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Fayyaz

Mar 31, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Carlson

Mar 31, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Su

Mar 31, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Jasnic

Mar 31, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Budzyn

Mar 30, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Rubash, Ryan v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Mar 29, 2022W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Dr. Richard L. Thalman v. First Hospital Laboratories, Inc.

Mar 29, 2022S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Medina

Mar 28, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Choy

Mar 24, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Adams

Mar 21, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - Transportation Division v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Mar 21, 2022N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Cupi

Mar 16, 2022C.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Junco

Mar 15, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Building Trades United Pension Trust Fund v. DS Property Maintenance and Management LLC

Mar 10, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Wisconsin Laborers Health Fund v. Ground Effects of Wisconsin, Inc.

Mar 7, 2022W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Ellerman, Bradley v. Whitley, John

Mar 7, 2022W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Shaw

Mar 6, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation

Mar 3, 2022N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Pagan Hernandez v. Milwaukee Composites Inc

Feb 28, 2022E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Local Union No. 9, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Adesta, LLC

Feb 25, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Painters Local 802 Pension Fund v. Badger Specialty Coatings & Construction LLC

Feb 22, 2022W.D. Wis.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP

Feb 22, 2022E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Boyer, Michael v. State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Feb 18, 2022W.D. Wis.Dismissed

TURNER

Feb 15, 2022S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

Fussell

Feb 15, 2022INNDRemanded

Wisconsin Laborers Health Fund v. Dane County Contracting, LLC

Feb 14, 2022W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

WRIGHT

Feb 14, 2022S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Emerson

Feb 10, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Wachala

Feb 10, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Dooley

Feb 9, 2022C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gonzalez

Feb 7, 2022C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Scott

Jan 31, 2022INNDDismissed

Breuder

Jan 31, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Gull

Jan 27, 2022INNDDismissed

Curry

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

Tyson

Jan 21, 2022N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Umberger

Jan 21, 2022C.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.