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

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Afl-Cio v. National Labor Relations Board, and Terracon, Incorporated, Intervenor-Respondent

Mar 16, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Enodis Corporation v. Employers Insur

Mar 9, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

J.N. Moser Trucking, Inc. v. United States Department of Labor

Feb 27, 2004N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Employers Insurance of Wausau v. El Banco De Seguros Del Estado

Feb 25, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Chao

Feb 20, 2004W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Thomas Adams v. Richard Catrambone and Great Lakes Building Materials, Inc.

Feb 19, 20047th CircuitRemanded

Adams, Thomas v. Catrambone, Richard

Feb 19, 20047th CircuitRemanded

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Feb 12, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Ganton Technologies, Inc. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace And Agricultural Implement Workers Of America, U.A.W., Local 627

Feb 12, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Ganton Technologies, Inc. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers

Feb 12, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Brotherhood of Maint v. Union Pacific

Feb 12, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Severn Trent Services, Inc.

Feb 10, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Severn Trent

Feb 10, 20047th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Bloomington-Normal Seating Co., Petitioner-Cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent-Cross-Petitioner

Feb 5, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

Bloomington-Normal S v. NLRB

Feb 5, 20047th CircuitDefendant Win

International Financial Services Corp. v. Chromas Technologies Canada, Inc.

Jan 23, 20047th CircuitRemanded

International Financial Services Corporation v. Chromas Technologies Canada, Inc.

Jan 23, 20047th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ralphs Grocery Co.

Jan 20, 2004N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Unionamerica Ins. Co. v. Allstate Insurance Co.

Jan 15, 2004N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories

Jan 12, 2004N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Albert Bethea v. Robert J. Adams & Associates Law Offices of Melvin James Kaplan and Zalutsky & Pinski, Ltd.

Dec 17, 20037th CircuitRemanded

Bethea, Albert v. Robert J. Adams &

Dec 17, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

International Union Of United Automobile, Aerospace And Agricultural Implement Workers Of America, U.A.W. And Its Local 803, v. Rockford Powertrain, Inc.

Dec 3, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers, Local 803 v. Rockford Powertrain, Inc.

Dec 3, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Robertson-Ceco Corp. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Nov 19, 2003N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Fleming Companies, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 18, 20037th CircuitMixed Result

Fleming Companies, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 18, 20037th CircuitMixed Result

Sears, Roebuck & Company, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Nov 17, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Hackner

Nov 17, 20037th CircuitMixed Result

Sears Roebuck v. NLRB

Nov 17, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Monee Nursery & Landscaping Company v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Afl-Cio

Nov 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Monee Nursery v. Int'l Union Eng 150

Nov 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Marino

Oct 28, 2003E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Winkie Manufacturing v. NLRB

Oct 27, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Winkie Mfg. Co., Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Oct 27, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Cynthia Albert, Jeffrey Beadle, Cecilia E. Comstock v. Trans Union Corporation

Oct 2, 20037th CircuitDismissed

Krokosky

Sep 30, 2003W.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Moran

Sep 4, 2003INNDPlaintiff Win

Dennis Walker v. Abbott Laboratories

Aug 18, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Walker, Dennis v. Abbott Laboratories

Aug 18, 20037th CircuitRemanded

Haehl

Aug 12, 2003S.D. Ind.Defendant Win

Trompler, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 1, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Trompler, Inc. v. NLRB

Aug 1, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Bituin

Jul 29, 2003C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

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

Jul 10, 20037th CircuitRemanded

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

Jul 10, 20037th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and James M. Ferguson, Intervening v. Pipefitters Association Local Union 597

Jul 1, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Pipefitters 597

Jul 1, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Tig Insurance Company v. Reliable Research Company, and Security Union Title Insurance Company, Intervenor-Appellant

Jun 30, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

In Re Wal-Mart Employee Litigation

Jun 30, 2003E.D. Wis.Plaintiff 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.