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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

Jones

Jun 30, 2003W.D. Wis.Mixed Result

Morris Silverman Management Corp. v. Western Union Financial Services, Inc.

Jun 19, 2003N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jillian's of Indianapolis, IN, Inc.

Jun 16, 2003S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

Adams, Reuben v. Bartow, Byran

Jun 3, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Sarver

May 22, 2003N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, and Indiana State Pipe Trades Association, Intervenor

May 14, 20037th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dial Corp.

Apr 22, 2003N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Hawkins, Mark C. v. First Union Corp

Apr 22, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Huck Store Fixture Company, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Apr 21, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Huck Store Fixture v. NLRB

Apr 21, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Zeigler Coal Company v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, and William E. Hawker

Apr 18, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brinda Adams v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Apr 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

National Steel Corporation, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Apr 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams, Brinda v. Sam's Club/Wal-Mart

Apr 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Nat'l Steel Corp v. NLRB

Apr 7, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Afl-Cio v. National Labor Relations Board, and Brandt Construction Company, Intervening

Mar 28, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

Farrell, Leo J. v. Abbott Laboratories

Mar 28, 20037th CircuitRemanded

Int'l Union 150 v. NLRB

Mar 28, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lakeside Building Maintenance, Inc.

Mar 26, 2003N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Masiongale Elec v. NLRB

Mar 21, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Mar 14, 20037th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. Midwestern Personnel Services, Inc., Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Mar 11, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Midwestern Personnel

Mar 11, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Employers Insurance of Wausau v. American Re-Insurance Co.

Mar 10, 2003W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Niblock Excavating, Inc.

Mar 5, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

County, Municipal Employees' Supervisors & Foreman's Union Local No. 1001 v. Laborers' Pension Fund

Jan 22, 2003N.D. Ill.Dismissed

National Labor Relations Board v. Deutsche Post Global Mail, Ltd.

Jan 13, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Deutsche Post Global Mail, Ltd.

Jan 13, 20037th CircuitPlaintiff Win

B.S. Ex Rel. Schneider v. Board of School Trustees, Fort Wayne Community Schools

Jan 3, 2003INNDDefendant Win

Bethea

Jan 3, 2003N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Telemark Development Group, Inc., a Nevada Corporation v. John P. Mengelt, Cross-Appellee

Dec 12, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Amax Coal Company v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, and Jack Chubb

Dec 6, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

Garg

Dec 5, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union v. United States General Services Administration

Dec 2, 2002N.D. Ill.Settlement

Sorrell

Nov 22, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Harte

Nov 12, 2002N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Applicant-Appellee v. Sidley Austin Brown & Wood

Oct 24, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Leber

Sep 24, 2002S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Preferred Management Corp.

Sep 20, 2002S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

Thomas E. Heinz and Richard J. Schmitt, Jr. v. Central Laborers' Pension Fund

Sep 13, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Heinz, Thomas E. v. Central Laborers Pen

Sep 13, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Glenn E. Jones v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Sep 10, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Jones, Glenn E. v. Union Pacific

Sep 10, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. a & C Environmental, Inc.

Aug 19, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

Laborers' Pension Fund v. A & C Environmental, Incorporated

Aug 19, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Peter Scheiber v. Dolby Laboratories, Inc., and Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp.

Aug 1, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Maxine Livermore v. Amax Coal Company, and Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Jul 25, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Blackmore Sewer Construction, Inc.

Jul 24, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Laborers' Pension Fund v. Blackmore Sewer Construction, Incorporated

Jul 24, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Bulkmatic Transport Co. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters & Local 407

Jul 22, 2002INNDMixed Result

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.