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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

Smith v. The Matheson Tri-Gas Medical Plan

Aug 19, 2019S.D. OhioRemanded

Tucker

Aug 16, 2019E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Marathon Petroleum Co. v. NLRB

Aug 16, 20196th CircuitRemanded

Seldomridge

Aug 15, 2019S.D. OhioRemanded

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

Aug 14, 2019N.D. OhioDismissed

Coutu

Aug 13, 2019M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Jerremy Dyer v. Ventra Sandusky

Aug 8, 20196th CircuitRemanded

Zawada

Aug 7, 2019E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Hendrickson United States, LLC. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Aug 1, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Maritas

Aug 1, 2019E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Its Employee Welfare Plan v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan

Jul 30, 2019E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Fitzgerald

Jul 30, 2019E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Rhodes

Jul 22, 2019W.D. Tenn.Settlement

Peck

Jul 17, 2019E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Erickson Trucking Serv., Inc. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Jul 10, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Firstenergy Generation, LLC v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Jul 2, 20196th CircuitMixed Result

Harrison

Jun 12, 2019W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

SOL

May 29, 20196th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Karen Briggs v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co.

May 23, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Karen Briggs v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co.

May 23, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

AES-Apex Employer Servs. v. Dino Rotondo

May 17, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Ables

May 10, 2019W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

SOL

Apr 5, 20196th CircuitMixed Result

Mitchell v. Bmi Fed. Credit Union

Mar 18, 2019S.D. OhioDismissed

Adam Bogart v. Univ. of Ky.

Mar 18, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Am. Mun. Power, Inc. v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Mar 11, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Econ. Linen & Towel Serv., Inc. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, Teamsters Local Union 637

Mar 1, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Airgas USA, LLC v. Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.

Feb 21, 20196th CircuitRemanded

Christine Adair v. Johnny Hunter

Feb 12, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Abdias Catalan-Estrada v. Matthew G. Whitaker

Jan 29, 20196th CircuitDefendant Win

Airgas USA v. NLRB

Jan 14, 20196th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Sec. Nat'l Ins. Co. v. Jamestown Union Bancshares, Inc.

Nov 26, 2018M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Clark v. Teamsters Local Union 651

Oct 24, 2018E.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers, Int'l Union AFL-CIO v. Kellogg Co.

Sep 19, 20186th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Mason v. Adams Cnty. Recorder

Aug 28, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Darryl Mason v. Adams Cty. Recorder

Aug 28, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Darryl Mason v. Adams Cty. Recorder

Aug 28, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Pingston-Poling

Aug 8, 2018W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Con-Ag, Inc. v. Sec'y of Labor

Jul 26, 20186th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brintley

Jul 20, 2018E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Platt v. Bd. of Comm'rs on Grievances & Discipline of the Ohio Supreme Court

Jun 25, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Stanley Kozlowski, III v. Mich. Unemployment Ins. Agency

May 29, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Nat'l Credit Union Admin. Bd. v. Danica Zovko

Apr 11, 20186th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Mar 30, 2018S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Int'l Union, United Auto., Aerospace, & Agric. Implement Workers of Am. (UAW) v. Honeywell Int'l Inc.

Mar 29, 2018E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

David Hous. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor

Mar 26, 2018W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Jerry Slight v. Local 12, Int'l Union UAW

Mar 21, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Artur Zawada v. Uber Technologies

Mar 14, 20186th CircuitDefendant Win

Humbert

Mar 12, 20186th CircuitDismissed

Adams

Mar 12, 2018S.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.