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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

Greenberg

Jan 20, 2022C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Fiala

Jan 18, 2022N.D. Ill.Remanded

Brooks

Jan 13, 2022E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Griffin-Thomas

Jan 11, 2022N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Gilbank, Michelle v. Wood County DHS

Jan 10, 2022W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Zeyadeh

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

Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. d/b/a METRA v. International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - Transportation Division

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

STRATTON

Jan 4, 2022S.D. Ind.Remanded

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

Jan 3, 2022S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Carrico

Dec 17, 2021INNDDefendant Win

Sias

Dec 16, 2021E.D. Wis.Mixed Result

McNeal

Dec 9, 2021C.D. Ill.Dismissed

Fares

Dec 7, 2021E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Trump

Dec 6, 2021E.D. Wis.Dismissed

TURNER

Nov 29, 2021S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Zarate

Nov 19, 2021N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Long

Nov 16, 2021N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

CAMM

Nov 9, 2021S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Wisconsin Electrical Employees Health and Welfare Plan v. Lewins Electric LLC

Nov 8, 2021E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Johnson as Next Friend of C.C., A Minor v. Hotel Management Services Inc.

Nov 8, 2021INNDDismissed

Dart

Nov 2, 2021N.D. Ill.Remanded

BOWMAN

Oct 29, 2021S.D. Ind.Remanded

Employers and Operating Engineers Local 520 Pension Fund v. A & A Companies, Inc.

Oct 29, 2021S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Wisconsin Laborers Pension Fund v. Wayne's Caulking, Inc.

Oct 28, 2021W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Trustees of the Indiana State Council of Roofers Health and Welfare Fund v. McDowell Roofing LLC

Oct 25, 2021INNDPlaintiff Win

Bjelica

Oct 22, 2021C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Property Recycling Services Corp.

Oct 18, 2021N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

McGinnis

Oct 18, 2021N.D. Ill.Dismissed

International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 743 v. Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare and Pension Funds

Oct 12, 2021N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Connectors Realty Group Corporation, The v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company

Oct 7, 2021N.D. Ill.Remanded

Teamsters Union No 142 Pension Fund Trustees of the v. Actin Inc

Oct 4, 2021INNDPlaintiff Win

Williams v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Oct 1, 2021N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Teamsters Local Union No. 705 v. L. Neill Cartage Co., Inc.

Sep 30, 2021N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Simmons

Sep 30, 2021C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Burnworth

Sep 29, 2021INNDDefendant Win

Marski

Sep 29, 2021N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Wilson

Sep 28, 2021N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Williams v. Sam's East Inc

Sep 27, 2021E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Tate

Sep 27, 2021N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Illinois State Painters Welfare Fund v. Ron Ward

Sep 23, 2021S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority

Sep 23, 2021N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Chicago Teachers Union, Local v. Board of Education of the City

Sep 22, 20217th CircuitDefendant Win

INTEGRITY KOKOSING PIPELINE SERVICES, L.L.C. v. PIPELINERS UNION 798 UNITED ASSOCIATION

Sep 15, 2021S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Stone v. Signode Industrial Group LLC

Sep 15, 2021N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Sullers, Sr. v. International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2

Sep 13, 2021N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Trustees of the N.E.C.A. - IBEW Local 176 Health, Welfare, Pension, Vacation and Training Trust Funds v. New Frontier Electrical Construction, Inc.

Sep 13, 2021N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Rai Concrete, Inc.

Sep 11, 2021N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Tacuba

Sep 9, 2021E.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Breuder

Sep 9, 2021N.D. Ill.Remanded

Trustees of the Indiana State Council of Roofers Health and Welfare Fund v. McDowell Roofing LLC

Sep 3, 2021INNDMixed Result

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.