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

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Apr 9, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Abdullahi

Mar 21, 20087th CircuitRemanded

Abdullahi, Parisima v. Prada USA Corporatio

Mar 21, 20087th CircuitRemanded

St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 11, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

St. Margaret Mercy v. NLRB

Mar 11, 20087th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Slaughter

Mar 3, 2008S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

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

Feb 25, 2008N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Colvin Ex Rel. Bricklayers Union Local No. 6 of Indiana Pension Fund v. Larry E. Webb Construction Co.

Feb 25, 2008INNDPlaintiff Win

Abbott Laboratories, Inc. v. BioValve Technologies, Inc.

Feb 12, 2008N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Martin

Jan 29, 2008S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

IFC Credit Corp. v. United Business & Industrial Federal Credit Union

Jan 15, 20087th CircuitDefendant Win

Williams v. Southern Illinois Riverboat/Casino Cruises, Inc.

Jan 1, 2008S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Spoerle

Dec 31, 2007W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Saban

Dec 4, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Saban, Mark G. v. Department of Labor

Dec 4, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Area Erectors, Inc.

Nov 27, 2007N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Killingsworth

Nov 9, 20077th CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Midwestern Personnel Services, Inc.

Nov 8, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Midwestern Personnel

Nov 8, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. v & J Foods, Inc.

Nov 7, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Canfield

Nov 7, 2007INNDDefendant Win

EEOC v. V&J Foods, Inc.

Nov 7, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

BLET.

Oct 16, 2007N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Jeffboat LLC v. General Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Local Union No. 89

Oct 12, 2007S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Local Union 15, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Commonwealth Edison Co.

Oct 3, 2007N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gibson

Sep 26, 2007S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Hess

Sep 18, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Hess, James v. Reg-Ellen Employee

Sep 18, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Nichols

Sep 10, 2007W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Mitchell v. Union Pacific Railroad

Sep 5, 20077th CircuitDismissed

Mitchell, George v. Union Pacific

Sep 5, 20077th CircuitDismissed

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen v. Union Pacific Railroad

Aug 30, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Burger

Aug 22, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Burger, Robert M. v. Int'l Union Elev 2

Aug 22, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Caterpillar Inc.

Aug 9, 2007N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Concentra Health Services, Inc.

Aug 3, 20077th CircuitMixed Result

EEOC v. Concentra Health Ser

Aug 3, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

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

Jul 25, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Matthews

Jul 23, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Carolyn G. Kochert v. Adagen Medical International, Incorporated and North American Medical Corporation

Jul 13, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Lineback

Jul 13, 2007INNDPlaintiff Win

Teamster Local Union No. 714 v. Ges Exposition Services, Inc.

Jul 6, 2007N.D. Ill.Remanded

Lamb

Jul 2, 2007S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Rockwell Automation Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance

Jun 29, 2007E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

F: AJ KIKSON v. Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

Jun 28, 20077th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Kochert, Carolyn G. v. Adagen Medical Int'l

Jun 28, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Zamecnik, Gary v. Abbco Inc Erisa Plan

Jun 26, 20077th CircuitDefendant Win

Orth

May 25, 2007E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Abbott Laboratories v. Sandoz, Inc.

May 24, 2007N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Abbott Laboratories v. Sandoz, Inc.

May 3, 2007N.D. Ill.Defendant 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.