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

Randolph, Elsie P. v. IN Local Union 1003

Jun 28, 20067th CircuitRemanded

LABR

Jun 28, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

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

Jun 23, 2006W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Starcon International, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 7, 20067th CircuitMixed Result

Starcon International, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 7, 20067th CircuitMixed Result

Ameriquest

Jun 1, 20067th CircuitRemanded

Gillespie

May 15, 2006N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

BLET

May 15, 2006N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Charles O. Sims and Sandra Adams v. Gc Services L.P., Dls Enterprises, Incorporated, and Gc Financial Corporation

Apr 26, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Employers Insurance Company of Wausau v. Century Indemnity Company

Apr 4, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Employers Insurance v. Century Indemnity

Apr 4, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Craig J. Duchossois Revocable Trust UAD 9/11/1989 v. CDx Laboratories, Inc.

Mar 30, 2006N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Martinez, Isaac v. Abbott Laboratories

Mar 29, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Elaine Chao, Secretary, Department of Labor v. Gunite Corporation

Mar 24, 20067th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Cuna Mutual Insurance Society v. Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 39

Mar 16, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Cuna Mutual Insur v. Int'l Union 39

Mar 16, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

American Roller Co. v. Foster Adams Leasing, LLP

Mar 6, 2006N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Miguel Quezada-Luna v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States

Mar 3, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sidley Austin LLP

Feb 17, 20067th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Sidley Austin LLP v. EEOC

Feb 17, 20067th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Safiyyah Maalik v. International Union of Elevator Constructors, Local 2

Feb 9, 20067th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Maalik, Safiyyah v. Int'l Union Elev 2

Feb 9, 20067th CircuitPlaintiff Win

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

Jan 31, 2006N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Downey

Jan 30, 2006INNDDefendant Win

Local 7-0018, Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers (Pace) International Union v. Wisconsin Gas Co.

Jan 23, 2006E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Tri-Gen Incorporated v. International Union Of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Afl-Cio

Jan 18, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Tri-Gen Inc. v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150

Jan 18, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Brettler

Jan 10, 2006INNDDefendant Win

Shares, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 9, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Shares, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 9, 20067th CircuitDefendant Win

Nick Slusher v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 23, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Slusher, Nick v. NLRB

Dec 23, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP.

Dec 20, 2005N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Fedex Freight East, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 12, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Anderson

Dec 9, 2005W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Shorter

Dec 5, 2005INNDDismissed

Moriarty Ex Rel. Local Union No. 727, I.B.T. Pension Trust v. Svec

Nov 21, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Local 15, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Afl-Cio v. National Labor Relations Board, and Midwest Generation, Eme, Llc, Intervenor

Oct 31, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Int'l Brohd Elec 15 v. NLRB

Oct 31, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 16, Afl-Cio

Oct 12, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Int'l Brohd Elec 16

Oct 12, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Continental Airlines, Inc.

Oct 11, 2005N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

George and Ruth Schillinger v. Union Pacific Railroad Company and Union Pacific Corporation

Oct 5, 20057th CircuitDismissed

Schillinger, George v. Union Pacific

Oct 5, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

State of Wisconsin v. Abbott Laboratories

Sep 29, 2005W.D. Wis.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jewel Food Stores, Inc.

Sep 13, 2005N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

James Hess & John Hess v. Reg-Ellen MacHine Tool Corp. And Reg Ellen MacHine Tool Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Sep 6, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

R.J. Corman Derailment Services, LLC v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union 150, Afl-Cio

Sep 2, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

R.J. Corman v. Int'l Union 150

Sep 2, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Roy G. Nelson, Clarence Alsip, Charles Andrews v. John Stewart, Donald R. Say, and United Steelworkers of America, Local Union 12213

Aug 29, 20057th CircuitMixed Result

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.