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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

Miller v. Aetna Life Insurance Company

May 4, 2020S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kavalec

May 4, 2020N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Jenifer Griffin v. Hope Federal Credit Union

May 1, 20206th CircuitDismissed

Beiersdorfer

Apr 30, 2020N.D. OhioMixed Result

Walters

Apr 29, 2020E.D. Mich.Remanded

King

Apr 28, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Canaday

Apr 24, 2020W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Murchison

Apr 23, 2020W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Perry

Apr 23, 2020W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. LA Williams Construction, LLC

Apr 23, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Grigsby

Apr 23, 2020W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Slaughter

Apr 21, 2020S.D. OhioSettlement

Louisville City School District Board of Education v. Local 4 Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSME AFL-CIO

Apr 21, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Youthdevelopment Corp., USA v. North America's Building Trade Unions

Apr 20, 2020E.D. Mich.Dismissed

McAllister

Apr 16, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Perry

Apr 15, 2020S.D. OhioDismissed

Tiedel

Apr 15, 2020W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Baughman

Apr 13, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

UAW

Apr 13, 20206th CircuitDefendant Win

Marble

Apr 10, 2020E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

GCIU - Employer Retirement Fund v. The Novelty Advertising Company

Apr 1, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Caffa-Mobley

Apr 1, 2020W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Boyd

Mar 31, 2020N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Anderson

Mar 30, 2020E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Eckert

Mar 30, 2020S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Michigan Laborers' Pension Fund v. Environmental Specialty Services, Inc.

Mar 30, 2020E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Mar 26, 2020E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Reed

Mar 25, 2020M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Josephson

Mar 24, 2020W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Southard

Mar 24, 2020W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Battle

Mar 19, 2020W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Watkins

Mar 18, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Global Outdoor Solutions, LLC

Mar 17, 2020S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Sorah

Mar 16, 2020S.D. OhioDismissed

Denoewer

Mar 16, 2020S.D. OhioMixed Result

Ozburn-Hessey Logistics v. NLRB

Mar 12, 20206th CircuitMixed Result

Leggett

Mar 10, 2020M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Nealey

Mar 4, 2020S.D. OhioDismissed

Reed

Mar 3, 2020N.D. OhioMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. HP Pelzer Automotive Systems, Inc. (TV2)

Mar 2, 2020E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Parnell

Mar 2, 2020E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Christopher Adams v. Dave Baker

Mar 2, 20206th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Parker

Feb 28, 2020S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kulinski

Feb 27, 2020W.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Magneti Marelli of Tennessee, LLC

Feb 26, 2020M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Fulkerson

Feb 26, 2020N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Mullett

Feb 25, 2020N.D. OhioDismissed

Steely

Feb 21, 2020N.D. OhioMixed Result

Duggan

Feb 19, 2020E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Burley

Feb 14, 2020M.D. Tenn.Remanded

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.