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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

Chime

Nov 17, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Roseman

Nov 17, 2020E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Hammond

Nov 16, 2020M.D. Tenn.Settlement

Osterman

Nov 16, 2020E.D. Mich.Remanded

DeVooght

Nov 16, 2020E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Trivette

Nov 12, 2020M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Cox

Nov 12, 2020M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Anderson

Nov 12, 2020W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Arends

Nov 4, 2020N.D. OhioMixed Result

Hammond

Nov 3, 2020M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Marshall

Nov 2, 2020E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Polch

Oct 30, 2020N.D. OhioSettlement

Hanna

Oct 30, 2020W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

McDaniel

Oct 29, 2020E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Bolyard

Oct 28, 2020N.D. OhioSettlement

Brady

Oct 28, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Pledger

Oct 28, 2020E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers AFL-CIO, Local Union 369 v. ADT, LLC

Oct 28, 2020W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Sharqawi

Oct 23, 2020N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Lankford

Oct 22, 2020E.D. Mich.Remanded

Luster

Oct 16, 2020N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Directors of the Ohio Conference of Plasterers and Cement Masons Combined Funds, Inc. v. Sharkey & Son Construction Co.

Oct 13, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Thompson

Oct 8, 2020M.D. Tenn.Remanded

Younker

Oct 5, 2020N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Cook

Oct 5, 2020N.D. OhioMixed Result

Lewis

Oct 2, 2020E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

McClelland

Oct 1, 2020E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Flynn

Sep 29, 2020W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

McCord

Sep 28, 2020W.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. R.G. &. G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc.

Sep 23, 2020E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Dana Incorporated v. The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and AgriculturalImplement Workers of America, Local Union No. 3062

Sep 23, 2020E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Kleinknecht

Sep 17, 2020E.D. Mich.Remanded

Aday

Sep 14, 2020S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Asamoah

Sep 11, 2020S.D. OhioMixed Result

Swickheimer

Sep 11, 2020S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Henken

Sep 4, 2020W.D. Ky.Remanded

Sysco Grand Rapids, LLC v. NLRB

Sep 4, 20206th CircuitMixed Result

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. USA Concrete Specialists, Inc.

Sep 2, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Nitch

Aug 31, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

NLRB v. Roemer Indus., Inc.

Aug 27, 20206th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Walters

Aug 26, 2020E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Purvis

Aug 20, 2020M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Publix Super Markets, Inc.

Aug 20, 2020M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Blanchard

Aug 19, 2020W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Warford

Aug 19, 2020W.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Hedrick

Aug 19, 2020E.D. Tenn.Remanded

O'Bryan

Aug 17, 2020M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Moralez

Aug 17, 2020W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Pendleton

Aug 12, 2020E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Lewis

Aug 10, 2020E.D. Mich.Dismissed

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.