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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

Benson

Aug 25, 2005N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

JamSports & Entertainment, LLC v. Paradama Productions, Inc.

Aug 15, 2005N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Brotherhood of Maintenance Way Employees v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.

Aug 1, 2005N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Dennis Walker v. Abbott Laboratories

Jul 29, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Walker, Dennis v. Abbott Laboratories

Jul 29, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

William T. Killman v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, and Sahara Coal Trust

Jul 19, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Bice of Chicago

Jul 18, 2005N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Acosta

Jul 15, 2005N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Mitchell v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.

Jul 15, 2005N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Schor

Jul 12, 2005N.D. Ill.Dismissed

East St. Louis Laborers' Local 100 v. Bellon Wrecking & Salvage Company

Jul 6, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Kuehling, Roland v. Trans Union, LLC

Jul 6, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Northern Electric, Inc. v. Local Union 158, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Jul 6, 2005E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Abdelqadar, Mlaith v. Gonzales, Albert R.

Jul 1, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Theron M. McClain v. Retail Food Employers Joint Pension Plan and Board of Trustees of Retail Food Employers Joint Pension Plan

Jun 27, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

McClain, Theron M. v. Retail Food Employer

Jun 27, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Brandeis MacHinery & Supply Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 24, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Brandeis Machinery & Supply Company v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 24, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Radtke

Jun 23, 2005E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 95 v. Wood County Telephone Company

Jun 6, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Davis v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 965

Jun 2, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Caterpillar, Inc., Defendant-Petitioner

May 27, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Scaife

May 27, 2005INNDMixed Result

Caterpillar, Inc v. EEOC

May 27, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

George Mitchell v. Union Pacific Railroad Company and National Railroad Adjustment Board

May 10, 20057th CircuitRemanded

Mitchell, George v. Union Pacific

May 10, 20057th CircuitRemanded

Anderson

May 3, 2005W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Erie Brush and Manufacturing Corporation

May 2, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Erie Brush & Mfg Cor

May 2, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dr. Linda A. Rodrigue v. Olin Employees Credit Union, Cross-Appellee

Apr 19, 20057th CircuitMixed Result

Rodrigue, Linda v. Olin Employees

Apr 19, 20057th CircuitMixed Result

Lakeland Enterprises of Rhinelander, Incorporated v. Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor

Mar 28, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Flynn

Mar 25, 2005S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Ryder Truck Rental, Doing Business as Ryder Transportation Services v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 21, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Ryder Truck Renal v. NLRB

Mar 21, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

LABR

Mar 14, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Jamsports & Entertainment, LLC v. Paradama Productions, Inc.

Mar 13, 2005N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Jackson v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union 705

Mar 9, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Burke

Mar 9, 2005S.D. Ill.Dismissed

In Re: Allstate Insurance Company Agent Transition Severance Plan

Mar 8, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Employers Insurance of Wausau v. Titan International, Inc. And Dyneer Corporation

Mar 3, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Employers Insur v. Titan Int'l Inc

Mar 3, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Eisencorp, Inc. v. Rocky Mountain Radar, Inc. And Michael Churchman

Mar 1, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

J.W. Peters, Inc. v. Bridge, Structural & Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local Union 1

Mar 1, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

J.W. Peters, Inc. v. Bridge, Structural And Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local Union 1, Afl-Cio

Mar 1, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Eisencorp Inc v. Rocky Mountain Radar

Mar 1, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Oliva

Feb 15, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Curwood Inc.

Feb 9, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Curwood Incorporated

Feb 9, 20057th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Martinez

Feb 3, 2005N.D. Ill.Defendant 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.