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Employment Rulings in the Sixth Circuit

The Sixth Circuit covers the federal courts in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 2,531 published rulings we track here (19492026), 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 2,531 published rulings we track in the Sixth Circuit.

Defendant Win
1,124 (44%)
Plaintiff Win
460 (18%)
Mixed Result
385 (15%)
Dismissed
348 (14%)
Remanded
164 (6%)
Settlement
50 (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 2,489 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
1,205 (48%)

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
484 (19%)

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 484 summary-judgment rulings here, 285 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 199 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
658 (26%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
40 (2%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
46 (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
26 (1%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
30 (1%)

Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.

States in This Circuit

Browse rulings from courts in each state the Sixth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Sixth Circuit

Bannum Place of Saginaw, LLC v. NLRB

Jul 28, 20236th CircuitRemanded

Arnold Yerkes v. Ohio State Highway Patrol

Jul 27, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Craig

Jul 25, 2023E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Oglesby

Jul 25, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kyrkanides

Jul 25, 2023E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Middleton

Jul 19, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Carter

Jul 18, 2023E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Kreps

Jul 12, 2023E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Murphy v. Kettering Adventist Healthcare d/b/a Kettering Health Network

Jul 11, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Cook

Jul 6, 2023W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Secretary, Department of Labor v. MICA Contracting, LLC

Jun 29, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Harmon v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America

Jun 23, 2023E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

A. F. v. Association of American Medical Colleges

Jun 20, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Mance

Jun 20, 2023N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Trustees of the Plumbers' and Pipefitters' Local 162 Pension Fund v. Bruner Corporation

Jun 16, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Bullard

Jun 14, 2023W.D. Tenn.Remanded

Schwebke

Jun 8, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Thompson

Jun 7, 2023S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Stone v. Zeta Global Corp.

Jun 2, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ray

May 26, 2023W.D. Tenn.Remanded

Trivette

May 24, 2023M.D. Tenn.Remanded

Amos

May 22, 2023M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Chappel

May 18, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Deering

May 16, 2023E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Davita Inc. v. Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan

May 15, 2023S.D. OhioMixed Result

Goodson, Jr. v. Franklin County

May 10, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Trustees of the Bricklayers and Masons Local No. 22 Pension Plan v. 5 STAR MASONRY LLC

May 9, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Ramos

May 5, 2023M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Farmer

May 5, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Waid

May 4, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ultima Services Corporation v. U.S. Department of Agriculture

May 2, 2023E.D. Tenn.Remanded

Alzid

May 2, 2023E.D. Mich.Remanded

Totty

Apr 19, 2023M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Middleton

Apr 10, 2023W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Elemary

Apr 3, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Adamczyk

Mar 31, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Perry

Mar 31, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Browning

Mar 30, 2023W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Cooper

Mar 29, 2023E.D. Tenn.Remanded

Kensu

Mar 29, 2023E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Machhal

Mar 28, 2023W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Schierholt

Mar 27, 2023S.D. OhioRemanded

Gonidakis

Mar 24, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Wright

Mar 22, 2023M.D. Tenn.Remanded

McCaleb

Mar 22, 2023M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, The

Mar 15, 2023M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Thurman

Mar 15, 2023E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Fry

Mar 14, 2023N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Schierholt

Mar 10, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Mihocik

Mar 10, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant 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.