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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

Michigan Electrical Employees' Pension Fund v. Markee Electric, Inc.

Nov 7, 2019E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Hatmaker

Nov 5, 2019S.D. OhioMixed Result

Strickland

Nov 5, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Safie Specialty Foods Company, Inc.

Nov 5, 2019E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Roberts

Oct 31, 2019N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Outlaw Laboratory, LP v. 902 Dort Inc.

Oct 30, 2019E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Jordan

Oct 29, 2019S.D. OhioDismissed

Kanu

Oct 29, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Emch

Oct 25, 2019S.D. OhioMixed Result

Fisher

Oct 24, 2019W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. West Meade Place, LLP

Oct 22, 2019M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Wheatt

Oct 22, 2019N.D. OhioDismissed

in Re: Papa John's Employee and Franchisee Employee Antitrust Litigation

Oct 21, 2019W.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Young

Oct 17, 2019W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Holladay

Oct 11, 2019S.D. OhioDismissed

Slaughter

Oct 7, 2019N.D. OhioDismissed

Van Hauter v. First Watch Restaurant, Inc.

Oct 4, 2019N.D. OhioDismissed

Adams

Oct 1, 2019M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Paschal, Bihn & Sons, LLC

Oct 1, 2019S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Downey

Oct 1, 2019E.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Russell

Sep 27, 2019E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Friend

Sep 27, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

IUOE Local 324 Retirement Trust Fund v. LGC Global FM, LLC

Sep 27, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Adams

Sep 27, 2019E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Brown

Sep 26, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Cowan

Sep 25, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Giesman

Sep 25, 2019S.D. OhioDismissed

Charter Communications, Inc. v. NLRB

Sep 25, 20196th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, LLC v. NLRB

Sep 24, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Rebecca Buddenberg v. Robert Weisdack

Sep 20, 20196th CircuitPlaintiff Win

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

Sep 20, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Demange

Sep 19, 2019N.D. OhioDismissed

Roseman

Sep 17, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Arends

Sep 16, 2019N.D. OhioMixed Result

Powell

Sep 11, 2019M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Osterman

Sep 11, 2019E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Ganci

Sep 6, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Al-Menhali

Sep 6, 2019N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Meriwether

Sep 5, 2019S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Boards of Trustees of Ohio Laborers' Fringe Benefit Programs v. Freisthler Paving, Inc.

Aug 30, 2019S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Lemon

Aug 28, 2019N.D. OhioMixed Result

Watkins

Aug 28, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Karla Brintley v. Belle River Community Credit Union

Aug 27, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Charleston Laboratories, Inc. v. John Ameling

Aug 27, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Karla Brintley v. Belle River Community Credit Union

Aug 27, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Williams v. Wright-Patt Credit Union

Aug 26, 2019S.D. OhioDismissed

Union Commercial Servs. v. FCA Int'l Operations

Aug 26, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Lawrence Kosa v. Int'l Union United Auto

Aug 23, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Kenneth Miller v. Retirement Program Plan for Employees of Consolidated Nuclear Security

Aug 22, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Corbin

Aug 21, 2019S.D. OhioMixed Result

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.