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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

Pettigrew

Jul 11, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Daniels

Jun 26, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Wimberly

Jun 24, 2002C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

MSHA

Jun 20, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Northern Illinois Steel Supply Company v. Secretary Of Labor

Jun 20, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Mark Arnold v. United Mine Workers of America, International Union

Jun 7, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Farrell, Leo J. v. Abbott Laboratories

Jun 6, 20027th CircuitRemanded

In Re Consol. Industries Corp.

Jun 5, 2002INNDRemanded

Old Ben Coal Company v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, and James E. Hilliard

May 31, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Rapier

May 30, 2002C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Abbott Laboratories, Zeneca, Inc., and Merck & Co., Inc. v. Cvs Pharmacy, Inc., Cvs Corp., and Cvs Revco D.S., Inc.

May 15, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Abbott Laboratories v. CVS Pharmacy Inc

May 15, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board, and International Union of Elevator Constructors, Afl-Cio, Intervening-Petitioner v. River City Elevator Company, Inc.

May 13, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. River City Elevator

May 13, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Apr 30, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. Bd Regents Univ WI

Apr 30, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Apr 29, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Air Lines, Incorporated

Apr 25, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

Finsel

Apr 25, 2002C.D. Ill.Mixed Result

EEOC v. United Airlines Inc

Apr 25, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

T v. Ryan v. Union Pacific Railroad Company and United Transportation Union

Apr 11, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Ryan, T. v. v. Union Pacific

Apr 11, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Apostal

Apr 4, 2002N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. International Profit Associates, Inc.

Mar 27, 2002N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Clinton Electronics Corporation

Mar 25, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

NLRB v. Clinton Electronics

Mar 25, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Lyne Brunt, David Wadinski and John Wittenberg v. Service Employees International Union and Dan Iverson

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

United Transportation Union v. Gateway Western Railway Company

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Boutté

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Brunt, Lyne v. Service Employee 150

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Connors, John T. v. Union Planters Bank

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

United Trans Union v. Gateway Western

Mar 21, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board, and Local 744, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Intervening v. Cook County School Bus, Inc.

Mar 20, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Cook County School

Mar 20, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Duncan

Mar 20, 2002C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Teamsters & Employers Welfare Trust of Illinois v. Gorman Brothers Ready Mix

Mar 19, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Hasan

Mar 19, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

Teamsters Employers v. Gorman Bros Ready

Mar 19, 20027th CircuitDefendant Win

L.S.F. Transportation, Inc., A/K/A L.S.F. Trucking, Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Mar 11, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. L.S.F. Trans Inc

Mar 11, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Truck Drivers, Oil Drivers Filling Station & Platform Workers Union, Local 705 v. A.D. Connor, Inc.

Mar 5, 2002N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Preferred Management Corp.

Mar 1, 2002S.D. Ind.Mixed Result

SHARP EX REL. NLRB v. Ashland Const. Co.

Feb 26, 2002W.D. Wis.Plaintiff Win

Crampton

Feb 21, 2002N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Coil

Feb 20, 2002S.D. Ill.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Office Depot, Inc.

Feb 19, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Beer, Soft Drink, Water, Fruit Juice, Carbonic Gas, Liquor Sales Drivers, Helpers, Inside Workers, Local Union No. 744

Feb 15, 20027th CircuitPlaintiff Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc.

Feb 15, 2002C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 6, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 6, 20027th CircuitMixed Result

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.