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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

Doe

May 19, 2020INNDDefendant Win

United Steel Paper & Forestry Rubber Manufacturing Energy Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union AFL-CIO/CLC v. ArcleorMittal USA

May 13, 2020INNDMixed Result

Joseph Denan v. TransUnion LLC

May 11, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

Teamsters Local Union No. 727 Health & Welfare Fund, by and through its Board of Trustees, John T. Coli, Jr., Zachary Frankenbach, Michael DeGard, Nicholas Micaletti, John McCarthy, Gregory T. Youmans v. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority

May 11, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Joseph Denan v. TransUnion LLC

May 11, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

Joseph Denan v. TransUnion LLC

May 11, 20207th CircuitDefendant Win

Khungar

May 7, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

HUTNICK

May 5, 2020S.D. Ind.Dismissed

Lempfert

May 5, 2020INNDMixed Result

Englesby, Bruce v. Royal Credit Union

May 1, 2020W.D. Wis.Dismissed

SENIOR LIFESTYLE CORPORATION v. KEY BENEFITS ADMINISTRATORS, INC.

Apr 28, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Grimes

Apr 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Radowski

Apr 22, 2020INNDMixed Result

Hardiman

Apr 22, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

LigTel Communications, Inc. v. BaiCells Technologies Inc.

Apr 21, 2020INNDPlaintiff Win

Domann, Matthew v. Summit Credit Union

Apr 13, 2020W.D. Wis.Settlement

Landry

Apr 13, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Citgo Petroleum Corporation v. United Steelworkers Union, Local No. 7-517

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

FLOWERS

Apr 8, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Daley

Apr 7, 2020E.D. Wis.Dismissed

CHEN

Apr 6, 2020S.D. Ind.Dismissed

Ohr

Apr 2, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Curry

Apr 1, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Mar 31, 2020W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION v. THE VILLAGE AT HAMILTON POINTE LLC

Mar 31, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. RockAuto, LLC

Mar 30, 2020W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Murphy Paving and Sealcoating Inc.

Mar 30, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Murphy Paving and Sealcoating Inc.

Mar 27, 2020N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Ocol

Mar 26, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

AKERS

Mar 25, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Gamble

Mar 25, 2020N.D. Ill.Settlement

Peak

Mar 24, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Curry

Mar 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Fox

Mar 23, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. E. A. Masonry, Inc.

Mar 18, 2020S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Teamsters Union Pension Fund Trustees of the v. Actin Inc

Mar 17, 2020INNDPlaintiff Win

Employers & Laborers Locals 100 & 397 Pension, Health & Welfare and Annuity Funds v. A&A Hauling, Inc.

Mar 16, 2020S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund v. Zoie, LLC

Mar 16, 2020S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Holmes

Mar 13, 2020N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Indiana Michigan Power Company v. Local Union 1392 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Mar 12, 2020INNDDefendant Win

Doe 1 v. City of Chicago

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

Teamsters Union Pension Fund Trustees of the v. Actin Inc

Mar 11, 2020INNDPlaintiff Win

ROSS

Mar 4, 2020S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Steed, Kelly v. General Motors Life and Disability Benefits Program for Hourly Employees

Mar 3, 2020W.D. Wis.Dismissed

Daley

Mar 3, 2020E.D. Wis.Dismissed

Steed, Kelly v. General Motors Life and Disability Benefits Program for Hourly Employees

Mar 2, 2020W.D. Wis.Dismissed

Boardman

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

Harmon v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 10 AFL-CIO Union Lodge No 66

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

Estrada

Feb 27, 2020N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

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

Feb 25, 2020N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

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.