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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

Brush

Apr 17, 2001N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Ritacca

Apr 9, 2001N.D. Ill.Plaintiff Win

Leavell

Apr 5, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Williams v. Eastside Lumberyard and Supply Co.

Mar 23, 2001S.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Northern Indiana Public Service Company v. United Steelworkers of America, Afl-Cio-Clc, and United Steelworkers of America, Local Union 12775

Mar 12, 20017th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hupp

Mar 9, 2001N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Doe

Mar 9, 20017th CircuitDismissed

Radaszewski

Mar 8, 20017th CircuitDismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rockwell International Corp.

Mar 8, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Rockwell International Corp.

Mar 8, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Naperville Ready Mix, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 6, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Stone v. American Federation of Government Employees

Mar 6, 2001N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 700 v. Kroger Co.

Feb 21, 2001INNDPlaintiff Win

Zeigler Coal Company v. T. Michael Kerr, Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, and Edward Griskell

Feb 14, 20017th CircuitDismissed

Great Lakes Warehouse Corporation, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Feb 7, 20017th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Great Lakes v. NLRB

Feb 7, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Anderson

Jan 25, 2001N.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Gresser

Jan 22, 2001C.D. Ill.Defendant Win

Devine

Jan 22, 2001N.D. Ill.Dismissed

Jones

Jan 17, 20017th CircuitRemanded

6 West Limited Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 10, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

6 West Limited Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 10, 20017th CircuitDefendant Win

Kauffman

Dec 12, 2000N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Duffy Tool & Stamping, L.L.C. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 1, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Judith Keane, Intervenor-Appellant v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Nov 8, 20007th CircuitMixed Result

Kim Adams v. Ameritech Services, Inc. And Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc., and Deborah Allard v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc.

Oct 23, 20007th CircuitRemanded

Adams, Kim v. IN Bell Tele Co.

Oct 23, 20007th CircuitPlaintiff Win

General Service Employees Union, Local No. 73, Seiu, Afl-Cio, Clc v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 16, 20007th CircuitRemanded

General Service v. NLRB

Oct 16, 20007th CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., Inc.

Oct 13, 20007th CircuitMixed Result

NLRB v. Aluminum Casting

Oct 13, 20007th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Humiston-Keeling, Inc.

Sep 15, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Humiston-Keeling Inc

Sep 15, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

Beverly California Corp., F/k/a Beverly Enterprises, Petitioners/cross-Respondents v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Sep 13, 20007th CircuitMixed Result

Service Employees v. NLRB

Sep 13, 20007th CircuitMixed Result

Adams

Aug 18, 2000E.D. Wis.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc., D/B/A Ameritech Indiana, and Ameritech Corp.

Aug 4, 20007th CircuitRemanded

William Kinslow v. American Postal Workers Union, Chicago Local

Aug 2, 20007th CircuitPlaintiff Win

O'BANNON

Jul 28, 2000S.D. Ind.Plaintiff Win

Vulcan Basement Waterproofing of Illinois, Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Jul 26, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

Vulcan Basement v. NLRB

Jul 26, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

MacHinery Movers, Riggers, and MacHinery Erectors Union Local 136 v. Ges Exposition Services, Inc.

Jul 19, 2000N.D. Ill.Mixed Result

Union Oil Company v. Leavell, Dan

Jul 18, 20007th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Lemon v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 139

Jun 9, 20007th CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Americold Logistics, Inc.

Jun 6, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Americold Logistics

Jun 6, 20007th CircuitDefendant Win

Linda Place, Plaintiff-Appellee/cross-Appellant v. Abbott Laboratories, Defendant-Appellant/cross-Appellee

Jun 1, 20007th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Place, Linda v. Abbott Laboratories

Jun 1, 20007th CircuitMixed Result

EEOC v. IN Bell

May 26, 20007th CircuitRemanded

Consolidation Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers, District 12, Local Union 1545

May 17, 20007th 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.