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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

Renzi

Aug 20, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Monae

Aug 8, 2018N.D. Ill.Remanded

Divine

Aug 8, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Laborers' Pension Fund v. GA Paving, LLC

Aug 2, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Sterlinski

Jul 23, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Hancox

Jul 20, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Wasserstein

Jul 19, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Marijan

Jul 18, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Isabella A. v. Arrowhead Union High Sch. Dist.

Jul 16, 2018E.D. Wis.Dismissed

McDaniel

Jul 16, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Laborers' Welfare Fund for the Health and Welfare Department of the Construction and General Laborers' District Council of Chicago Vicinity v. Gilco Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

Jul 11, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Johnson v. Chicago Board of Education

Jun 29, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Jam Prods., Ltd. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Jun 28, 20187th CircuitRemanded

NLRB v. Jam Productions, Limited

Jun 28, 20187th CircuitRemanded

Jam Productions, Limited v. NLRB

Jun 28, 20187th CircuitRemanded

NLRB v. Jam Productions, Limited

Jun 28, 20187th CircuitRemanded

Rivera

Jun 26, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Bernero

Jun 22, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Bachler

Jun 18, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Wilson

Jun 13, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Thomas

Jun 6, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Geraci

May 25, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Holly Geraci v. Union Square Condominium Assoc

May 25, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Holly Geraci v. Union Square Condominium Assoc

May 25, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Awalt

May 23, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Pedrote-Salinas

May 22, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Lacko

May 15, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Harris

May 11, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Willie Jones v. Heartland Employment Services

May 11, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Willie Jones v. Heartland Employment Services

May 11, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Willie Jones v. Heartland Employment Services

May 11, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Mouloki

May 7, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Nance

Apr 12, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Doe I v. Kane County

Apr 11, 2018N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Medina

Apr 10, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. S&C Electric Company

Apr 10, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Pearson

Apr 5, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Carlson

Apr 2, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Chicago Teachers Union, Local 1 American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO v. Board Of Education City Of Chicago

Mar 30, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Armada (Singapore) Pte Ltd. v. Amcol Int'l Corp.

Mar 26, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Roldan

Mar 26, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Carmona

Mar 26, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Armada (Singapore) PTE Limited v. Amcol International Corporatio

Mar 26, 20187th CircuitDefendant Win

Pierson

Mar 25, 2018INNDPlaintiff Win

Wiggins

Mar 23, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

People of the State of Illinois v. Xing Ying Employment Agency

Mar 20, 2018N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Scott

Mar 19, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Smith v. Union Pacific Railroad

Mar 13, 2018N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Kraman

Mar 12, 2018N.D. Ill.Remanded

Hacker

Mar 6, 2018N.D. Ill.Dismissed

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.