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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

National Labor Relations Board v. Sunbelt Rentals Inc

Sep 3, 2020E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Smith v. Red Rock Productions, LLC

Sep 3, 2020E.D. Wis.Dismissed

McVey

Sep 3, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Rossman

Sep 3, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Bricklayers Union Local No. 6 of Indiana Pension Fund v. RV Builders

Sep 2, 2020INNDDefendant Win

PATEL

Sep 1, 2020S.D. Ind.Dismissed

Inman

Sep 1, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Hayes

Aug 31, 2020INNDMixed Result

White

Aug 28, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 32 and its Affiliated Local 467 AFL-CIO v. Sunny Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC

Aug 21, 2020E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Sutherlin

Aug 19, 2020INNDRemanded

Robinson

Aug 18, 2020INNDDefendant Win

Spence

Aug 12, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Breuder

Aug 12, 2020N.D. Ill.Remanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Sunbelt Rentals Inc

Aug 7, 2020E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Bertschy

Aug 7, 2020C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Phillips

Aug 6, 2020S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Kuk

Aug 6, 2020C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Tate

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

Denean Adams v. Board of Education Harvey Scho

Aug 3, 20207th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Denean Adams v. Board of Education Harvey Scho

Aug 3, 20207th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Richards

Jul 27, 2020E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Lucas

Jul 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

East Central Illinois Pipe Trades Health & Welfare Fund v. Prather Plumbing & Heating, Inc.

Jul 17, 2020C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Adam Delgado v. U.S. Department of Justice

Jul 16, 20207th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Poshard

Jul 16, 2020S.D. Ill.Remanded

Adam Delgado v. U.S. Department of Justice

Jul 16, 20207th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Grove

Jul 14, 2020C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

VanOoteghem

Jul 9, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. PML Services, LLC

Jul 1, 2020W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Jun 30, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

File

Jun 29, 2020E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Mendez

Jun 29, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Johnson v. Chicago Transit Authority

Jun 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Ruffin

Jun 19, 2020INNDRemanded

Bradley LeDure v. Union Pacific Railroad Compan

Jun 17, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

FITZGERALD

Jun 17, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Bradley LeDure v. Union Pacific Railroad Compan

Jun 17, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

Watkins

Jun 16, 2020S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Bricklayers Local 8 of Illinois and Employers Pension Plan v. Little Grassy Construction, Inc.

Jun 11, 2020S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Roehrich y Gorostieta v. Walmart, Inc.

Jun 11, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v. United Carpet, Inc.

Jun 10, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

DiSalvo, Zachary v. CRM US, Inc.

Jun 8, 2020W.D. Wis.Dismissed

WESTRAY

Jun 5, 2020S.D. Ind.Dismissed

Hillard

Jun 3, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

BLET GCA UP Central Region v. Union Pacific Railroad Corp.

Jun 2, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen/Union Pacific Central Region General Committee of Adjustment

Jun 2, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Stapleton

May 29, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Cheli

May 29, 2020C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Hannah

May 21, 2020N.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.