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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

Wisconsin Electric Power Compa v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Mar 2, 20097th CircuitDefendant Win

Shales

Feb 27, 20097th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lee's Log Cabin, Inc.

Feb 2, 20097th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Lee's Log Cabin, Incorporated

Feb 2, 20097th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Watkins Motor Lines, Inc.

Jan 23, 20097th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ceisel Masonry, Inc.

Jan 23, 2009N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

EEOC v. Watkins Motor Lines, Inc.

Jan 23, 20097th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Stanley

Dec 29, 2008INNDDefendant Win

Owens

Dec 12, 20087th CircuitDismissed

Owens

Dec 12, 20087th CircuitDismissed

Hasan

Dec 10, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

CIMAGLIA

Nov 18, 2008C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Moglia

Nov 6, 20087th CircuitDismissed

Outboard Marine Corp v. Pacific Employers In

Nov 6, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Scott Basken v. Teamsters Local Union No. 43

Nov 3, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Orth

Oct 22, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Orth, Ronald P. v. WI State Employee Un

Oct 22, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lee's Log Cabin, Inc.

Oct 6, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Lee's Log Cabin, Incorporated

Oct 6, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Tate

Sep 19, 20087th CircuitRemanded

United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 15, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

United Steel Paper v. NLRB

Sep 15, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

HAINJE

Sep 15, 2008INNDMixed Result

PETRIG

Sep 10, 2008S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Nycomed US Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories

Sep 8, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Altana, Incorporated v. Abbott Laboratories

Sep 8, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Esquivel

Sep 2, 2008N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Pavement Maintenance, Inc.

Aug 29, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Laborers' Pension v. Pavement Maintenance

Aug 29, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen General Committee of Adjustment, Central Region v. Union Pacific Railroad

Aug 11, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Brohd Engineers & Tr v. Union Pacific

Aug 11, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Aug 11, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Jirak

Jul 22, 2008N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Adams

Jul 22, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams, Billie R. v. Meloy, Christopher

Jul 22, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Daugherty v. Wabash Center, Inc.

Jul 18, 2008INNDDefendant Win

United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union v. TriMas Corp.

Jul 3, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Newell Operating Co. v. International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, U.A.W.

Jul 2, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Newell Operating v. Int'l Union United

Jul 2, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Mull

Jun 30, 2008N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Christiansen

Jun 20, 2008S.D. Ill.Remanded

Ching

Jun 20, 2008N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Kasten

Jun 19, 2008W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Saf-T-Gard International, Inc. v. Wagener Equities, Inc.

Jun 3, 2008N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Rittenhouse

May 28, 2008S.D. Ill.Dismissed

Williams v. Interpublic Severance Pay Plan

Apr 29, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Janky

Apr 24, 2008INNDDismissed

Gentile

Apr 21, 2008N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen General Committee of Adjustment, Central Region v. Union Pacific Railroad

Apr 9, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brohd Engineers & Tr v. Union Pacific

Apr 9, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff 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.