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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

United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union, Local 9550 v. Cequent Towing Products

Jan 30, 2013INNDMixed Result

Adams v. Raintree Vacation Exchange, LLC

Jan 28, 20137th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Aerotek, Inc.

Jan 11, 20137th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Aerotek, Incorporate

Jan 11, 20137th CircuitDefendant Win

Richards v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 26, 20127th CircuitDismissed

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 50 v. Kienstra Precast, LLC

Dec 13, 20127th CircuitMixed Result

Shadi Jaradat v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Dec 13, 20127th CircuitRemanded

Johnson v. Meriter Health Services Employee Retirement Plan

Dec 4, 20127th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Nov 20, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Northwestern Memorial Hospital v. Lake County Board of Commissioners Employee Health Benefit Plan

Nov 6, 2012N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division/IBT v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.

Oct 11, 2012N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Airlines, Inc.

Sep 7, 20127th CircuitRemanded

UAL

Sep 7, 20127th CircuitRemanded

Chicago Truck Drivers, Helpers & Warehouse Workers Union (Independent) Pension Fund v. CPC Logistics, Inc.

Aug 20, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jul 30, 2012N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Sung Ohr ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Nexeo Solutions, LLC

Jun 28, 2012N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Lippert Tile Co. v. International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen District Council of Wisconsin Local 5

Jun 20, 2012E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. KSM Industries, Inc.

May 22, 20127th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Administrative District Council 1 of Illinois of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers v. Masonry Co.

May 18, 2012N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gottschalk ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Piggly Wiggly Midwest, LLC

May 17, 2012E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Alvarez

May 8, 20127th CircuitPlaintiff Win

In re Fedex Ground Package System, Inc., Employment Practices Litigation

Apr 24, 2012INNDMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. RJB Properties, Inc.

Apr 23, 2012N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Board of Education

Apr 19, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Stanley Smith v. Union Pacific Rail

Apr 5, 20127th CircuitRemanded

Alswager

Apr 5, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Roger Alswager v. Rocky Mountain Instr

Apr 5, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Stanley Smith v. Union Pacific Rail

Apr 5, 20127th CircuitRemanded

Blue

Apr 2, 20127th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Ruan Transport Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 19, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Mudgett

Mar 13, 2012E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Roundy's Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 9, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Rochelle Waste Disposal, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 8, 20127th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Airlines, Inc.

Mar 7, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Myla Nauman v. Abbott Laboratories

Feb 3, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Cannaday

Feb 2, 20127th CircuitDefendant Win

Zepperi-Lomanto

Jan 19, 2012N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc.

Jan 9, 20127th CircuitMixed Result

Cigna

Dec 30, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

Jackson v. Illinois Laborers' & Contracting Training Trust Fund

Dec 7, 2011C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Autozone, Inc.

Nov 8, 2011C.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad

Nov 7, 2011N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Loyola University Medical Center

Oct 13, 2011N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Burns

Sep 15, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union v. ZF BOGE ELASTMETALL LLC

Aug 19, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2 v. U.S. Deparment of Labor

Aug 17, 2011N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Tindell

Jul 29, 2011S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Sheehy Enterprizes, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 14, 20117th CircuitMixed Result

Sheehy Enterprizes v. NLRB

Jul 14, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

Newpage Wisconsin System Inc. v. United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union

Jul 12, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

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.