Skip to main content

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

Biglands

Jul 12, 2011INNDDefendant Win

Barker ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. A.D. Conner Inc.

Jul 11, 2011N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Spurlino Materials, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 23, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

Thompson

Jun 22, 20117th CircuitMixed Result

Alalade

Jun 22, 2011INNDMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Jun 15, 2011E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Oakley

Jun 14, 2011S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

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

Jun 13, 20117th CircuitRemanded

Mitchell v. JCG INDUSTRIES

May 31, 2011N.D. Ill.Dismissed

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

May 31, 2011E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Dominguez

May 24, 2011N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. E.A. Sween Co.

May 16, 20117th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.

Apr 29, 20117th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Mathews

Apr 18, 2011S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Aaron's, Inc.

Apr 11, 2011N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Smith v. Union Pacific Railroad

Apr 4, 2011N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Chicago Teachers Union v. BOARD OF EDUC.

Mar 29, 20117th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Chicago Teachers Union Local v. Chicago Board of Education

Mar 29, 20117th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Massaro

Mar 22, 2011N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Merryman Excavation, Inc. v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150

Mar 21, 20117th CircuitDefendant Win

Allscripts-Misys

Mar 8, 2011N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Nokes

Mar 2, 2011INNDDefendant Win

Hine

Feb 25, 2011S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Rose Acre Farms, Inc. v. Columbia Casualty Co.

Feb 18, 2011S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Bayless

Feb 15, 2011INNDDefendant Win

Park

Feb 9, 2011S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Cynthia Albert v. Trans Union Corporation

Jan 14, 20117th CircuitSettlement

Thompson

Jan 13, 2011INNDRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Autozone, Inc.

Dec 30, 20107th CircuitRemanded

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Lake City Janitorial, Inc.

Dec 27, 2010N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Robinson

Dec 27, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Karl Schmidt Unisia, Inc. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers, UAW Local 2357

Dec 17, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Formella

Dec 10, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Beraly Estrada v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Nov 23, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Hendricks

Nov 1, 2010S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Doberstein

Oct 20, 2010E.D. Wis.Dismissed

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

Oct 12, 2010N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Cruz

Sep 27, 2010INNDRemanded

Mund

Sep 21, 2010W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Spivey

Sep 20, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Massaro

Sep 7, 2010N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Hoffman

Aug 31, 2010INNDMixed Result

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

Aug 31, 2010E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Parkland Environmental Group, Inc. v. Laborers' International Union

Jul 28, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Parkland Environment v. Laborers' I

Jul 28, 20107th CircuitDefendant Win

Marion County Coroner's Office v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jul 27, 20107th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Roadway Express, Inc. v. United States Department of Labor

Jul 22, 20107th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Abbott Laboratories, Inc. v. Apotex Inc.

Jul 9, 2010N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Thompson

Jun 30, 2010E.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Jirak

Jun 10, 2010N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

Facing something similar at work?Check your rights — free, private, no sign-up

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.