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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 1,113 published rulings we track here (1971–2026), 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 1,113 published rulings we track in the Sixth Circuit.

Defendant Win
547 (49%)
Plaintiff Win
246 (22%)
Mixed Result
112 (10%)
Dismissed
111 (10%)
Settlement
50 (4%)
Remanded
47 (4%)

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 1,109 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
421 (38%)

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
290 (26%)

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 290 summary-judgment rulings here, 209 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 81 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
275 (25%)

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

Trial verdict
27 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
52 (5%)

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
38 (3%)

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

Other rulings
6 (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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Prevo's Family Market, Inc.

Apr 23, 19986th CircuitDefendant Win

CASTELLER

Apr 16, 1998E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Tomblin

Mar 26, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Primes

Mar 19, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Raciti-Hur

Jan 29, 1998E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Shannahan

Jan 6, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Olsen

Sep 30, 1997N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Frito-Lay

May 13, 1997W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Frank's Nursery & Crafts, Inc.

Apr 22, 1997E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Walker

Apr 3, 1997E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Freedom Adult Foster Care Corp.

Jun 14, 1996E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Allen Petroleum Company of East Tennessee, Inc., D/B/A Okee Dokee No. 18

Jun 12, 19966th CircuitMixed Result

Stefanovic

Apr 8, 1996E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Coffey

Mar 14, 1996E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Creager

Feb 9, 1996E.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Jerrold MOOS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. the SQUARE D COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee

Dec 22, 19956th CircuitDefendant Win

Raines

Nov 22, 1995E.D. Tenn.Settlement

Hiefner

Nov 20, 1995E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Javetz

Oct 31, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Coffman

Oct 26, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Thompson

Aug 21, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Walden Book Co.

May 4, 1995M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Wixson

Nov 4, 1994W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Brocklehurst

Oct 26, 1994E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Sandison

Sep 13, 1994E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ford Motor Credit Company

Jun 13, 19946th CircuitMixed Result

Maddox

May 31, 1994E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WILSON METAL CASKET COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant

May 23, 19946th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. United States Postal Service

Mar 7, 19946th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Martinez

Nov 8, 1993W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Sandra E. Davis v. Nicholas F. Brady, Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Oct 22, 19936th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ohio Edison Company

Oct 20, 19936th CircuitRemanded

David M. Brown v. The Equitable Financial Companies U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Apr 8, 19926th CircuitDismissed

Kaiser

Mar 2, 1992E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Jesse A. Tolbert v. Clarence Thomas, Chairman, of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Feb 28, 19926th CircuitDefendant Win

Severance Tool Industries, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 5, 19926th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Detroit-Macomb Hospital Corp. A/K/A MacOmb Hospital Center

Jan 27, 19926th CircuitDefendant Win

Yedla

May 24, 1991E.D. Mich.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dillard Department Stores, Inc.

Feb 19, 1991W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Anderson

Feb 5, 1991E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tree of Life Christian Schools

Oct 22, 1990S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. University of Detroit

Apr 17, 19906th CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Patrick Henry Education Ass'n

Mar 13, 1990N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Luckmar Plastics, Inc.

Sep 7, 19896th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Giles Industries, Inc.

Jun 30, 1989E.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Argent Industries, Inc.

Jun 23, 1989S.D. OhioDismissed

Sargent v. INTERN. BROTH. OF TEAMSTERS

May 26, 1989E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Marsh

Feb 16, 1989E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Kelly

Aug 26, 1988E.D. Mich.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Penton Industrial Publishing Company, Inc.

Jul 13, 19886th CircuitDefendant Win

Showing 1,051–1,100 of 1,113 rulings · Page 22 of 23

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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.