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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 1,243 published rulings we track here (1975–2026), 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 1,243 published rulings we track in the Seventh Circuit.

Defendant Win
620 (50%)
Plaintiff Win
271 (22%)
Mixed Result
152 (12%)
Dismissed
119 (10%)
Remanded
64 (5%)
Settlement
17 (1%)

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 1,238 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
471 (38%)

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
307 (25%)

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 307 summary-judgment rulings here, 203 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 104 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
347 (28%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
43 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
19 (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
39 (3%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
12 (1%)

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

Jarju

Mar 31, 2025C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Parrent

Mar 14, 2025S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Ballard

Mar 11, 2025C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Revels

Mar 9, 2025N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Nessi

Feb 26, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Bohnert

Feb 26, 2025E.D. Wis.Settlement

Employers and Laborers Locals 100 and 397 Pension Fund v. ZOIE, LLC d/b/a and/or f/d/b/a Dana Howard Construction

Feb 18, 2025S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Su

Feb 4, 2025S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

BRUNSMAN

Jan 29, 2025S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Patt

Jan 27, 2025N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Plumbers and Fitters Local Union 101 v. Hubert Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc.

Jan 23, 2025S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Schmidt, Ronald v. Hands On CDL Driving School, LLC

Jan 22, 2025W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

United Association of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of United States and Canada, Local No. 360 v. Jeri Lynn Crafton

Jan 21, 2025S.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Hinkes

Jan 21, 2025N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Chicago & Vicinity Laborers' District Council Pension Fund v. Tyro Construction, Inc.

Jan 14, 2025N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Divelbiss, Randin v. Kneubuhler, Adam

Jan 14, 2025W.D. Wis.Dismissed

Carreon

Jan 13, 2025N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Goodwin

Dec 30, 2024C.D. Ill.Dismissed

Holloway

Dec 12, 2024E.D. Wis.Settlement

Capitol Street Surgery Center, LLC v. NLRB

Dec 12, 20247th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Capitol Street Surgery Center, LLC

Dec 12, 20247th CircuitDefendant Win

Sky Federal Credit Union v. Fair Isaac Corporation

Nov 24, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Ruiz

Nov 19, 2024N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Cross

Nov 12, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Reid

Nov 7, 2024E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Timberlake-Campbell

Oct 29, 2024N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Towns

Oct 28, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Fazlovic

Oct 8, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Taylor

Oct 2, 2024INNDDismissed

Muhammad

Sep 30, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Wenckaitis

Sep 30, 2024N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Noe

Sep 29, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Watson

Sep 25, 2024S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Bumpus

Sep 25, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Campbell

Sep 25, 2024N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Mitchell v. Exxon Mobil Corp

Sep 13, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Etheridge

Sep 10, 2024N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Gawlik

Sep 10, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Beck

Aug 30, 2024C.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Baird

Aug 29, 2024INNDDismissed

Wallin

Aug 23, 2024E.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Bass

Aug 22, 2024S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Burton

Aug 21, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Engstrom

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Shaw

Aug 13, 2024N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Johnson v. Northeastern Illinois University

Aug 12, 2024N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

MID CENTRAL OPERATING ENGINEERS HEALTH AND WELFARE FUND v. HOOSIERVAC LLC

Aug 5, 2024S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

CRAMER

Jul 23, 2024S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local v. NLRB

Jul 23, 20247th CircuitMixed Result

NLRB v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local

Jul 23, 20247th CircuitMixed Result

Showing 51–100 of 1,243 rulings · Page 2 of 25

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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.