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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

Adams

Jan 20, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

Romaniszak-Sanchez

Jan 13, 20057th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 139, Afl-Cio v. J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc.

Dec 30, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Int'l Union Eng 139 v. J.H. Findorff & Son

Dec 30, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Dec 22, 2004N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Rafine

Dec 21, 2004INNDPlaintiff Win

Mckinney Restoration, Co., Inc. v. Illinois District Council No. 1 Of The International Union Of Bricklayers And Allied Craftworkers

Dec 15, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

McKinney Restoration, Co. v. Illinois District Council No. 1 of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers

Dec 15, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Wisconsin UFCW Unions & Employers Health Plan v. Woodman's Food Market, Inc.

Dec 2, 2004E.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Anderson

Nov 24, 2004W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Electric Insurance v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh

Nov 22, 2004N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

DELONG

Nov 10, 2004S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Pease v. Production Workers Union Of Chicago And Vicinity Local 707

Nov 9, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Pease v. Production Workers Union & Vicinity Local 707

Oct 15, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Agnes N. Conder, as Trustee of the Conder Living Trust, on Behalf of Herself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Union Planters Bank, N.A.

Oct 13, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Wisconsin v. Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, Inc.

Oct 5, 2004W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Caterpillar Inc.

Sep 22, 2004N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Conder, Agnes v. Union Planters Bank

Sep 14, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Res Environmental Services, Inc.

Sep 13, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

JamSports and Entertainment, LLC v. PARADAMA PRODUCTION, INC.

Aug 19, 2004N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Henderson v. Irving Materials, Inc.

Aug 4, 2004S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Laborers' Pension v. RES Envir Services

Jul 29, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Fox

Jul 28, 2004S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

American Equine Ins. Group, Inc. v. Nat. Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa

Jul 28, 2004N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Advance Cast Stone Company v. Bridge, Structural and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local Union No. 1

Jul 22, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Advance Cast Stone v. Local Union 1

Jul 22, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Moline

Jul 15, 2004N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Perfection Bakeries, Inc. v. Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers, Local Union No. 414

Jul 14, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Jones

Jun 25, 2004E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Sca Tissue North America Llc, Petitioner-Cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent-Cross-Petitioner

Jun 15, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

SCA Tissue North v. NLRB

Jun 15, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Methode Electronics, Incorporated v. Adam Technologies, Incorporated and Vincent Devito

Jun 14, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Prince Adesegun Fadayiro v. Ameriquest Mortgage Co.

Jun 14, 20047th CircuitRemanded

Fadayiro, Prince A. v. Ameriquest Mortgage

Jun 14, 20047th CircuitRemanded

Methode Electronics v. Adam Technologies In

Jun 14, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Baker

Jun 10, 2004INNDDismissed

Atc Vancom of California, L.P. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 3, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

ATC Vancom CA v. NLRB

Jun 3, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. City Wide Insulation of Madison, Inc., D/B/A Builders' Insulation, Inc.

May 27, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. City Wide Insulation

May 27, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Local Union No. 1, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union v. Mel-O-Cream Donuts International, Inc.

May 19, 2004C.D. Ill.Mixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. General Teamsters Union Local 662

May 13, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Gen'l Teamsters 662

May 13, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Nat'l Union Fire Pit v. Garrity, James M.

Apr 29, 20047th CircuitMixed Result

County, Municipal Employees' Supervisors' and Foremen's Union Local 1001 (Chicago, Illinois) v. Laborers' International Union of North America

Apr 22, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Local 1001 v. Laborers' Int'l Unio

Apr 22, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Gibson

Apr 20, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Jorden

Mar 29, 2004C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

East Coast Fasteners & Closures, Inc. v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co.

Mar 24, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Int'l Union 150 v. NLRB

Mar 16, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal 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.