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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

Scobey

Oct 28, 2021E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Brahmamdam

Oct 27, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Secretary, Department of Labor v. MICA Contracting, LLC

Oct 26, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Roop

Oct 26, 2021N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kavalec

Oct 26, 2021N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

EEOC v. The Ohio State University

Oct 22, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Gales

Oct 22, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Smyer

Oct 22, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Greenhouse Holdings, LLC v. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 91

Oct 22, 2021W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Bolden

Oct 21, 2021W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

PUI Audio, Inc. v. Van Den Broek

Oct 21, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Cassaday

Oct 18, 2021W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Denoewer

Oct 14, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Smith v. ADEBCO, Inc.

Oct 12, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Egyptian European Pharmaceutical Industry v. Regents of the University of Michigan

Oct 6, 2021E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Williams Flagger Logistics, LLC

Oct 1, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Local 860, AFL-CIO Laborers' International Union of North America v. Kokosing Construction Company, Inc.

Sep 30, 2021N.D. OhioMixed Result

Purvis

Sep 29, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Denoewer

Sep 29, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Gambrell

Sep 29, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Raleigh v. Service Employees International Union

Sep 29, 2021E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Secretary, Department of Labor v. Gem Interiors, Inc.

Sep 28, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Seneca Re-Ad Industries, Inc. v. Secretary of the Department of Labor

Sep 28, 2021N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Hale

Sep 27, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Matthews

Sep 27, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Nuffer

Sep 24, 2021E.D. Mich.Remanded

Hall

Sep 24, 2021W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Hoffman

Sep 22, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Eddy

Sep 20, 2021E.D. Tenn.Remanded

Brahmamdam

Sep 20, 2021S.D. OhioRemanded

Davis

Sep 14, 2021E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Ruede

Sep 10, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Smith v. Commonspirit Health

Sep 8, 2021E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Cassaday

Sep 2, 2021W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Frayer

Sep 1, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Gaugh

Aug 26, 2021W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Borawski

Aug 25, 2021E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Myers

Aug 20, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Helgemo

Aug 20, 2021W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Joyner

Aug 19, 2021W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Amatech Group Limited v. Federal Card Services, LLC

Aug 19, 2021S.D. OhioDismissed

Laura Canaday v. The Anthem Companies, Inc.

Aug 17, 20216th CircuitDefendant Win

Brichler

Aug 17, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Baughman

Aug 16, 2021S.D. OhioDismissed

Little

Aug 13, 2021N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Rolle

Aug 11, 2021S.D. OhioDismissed

Oglesby

Aug 11, 2021S.D. OhioRemanded

Allied Federation, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. CSX Transportation, Inc.

Aug 10, 2021W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Gordon

Aug 9, 2021W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Eberline

Aug 4, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant 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.