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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

Fluker

Jan 7, 2025E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Keith Herman v. MetalTek International, Inc.

Jan 6, 2025N.D. OhioSettlement

Maney

Jan 3, 2025M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Arnott

Dec 20, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Shackleford

Dec 20, 2024W.D. Tenn.Settlement

Motley

Dec 19, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Berner

Dec 17, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Vilk

Dec 11, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

Peck

Dec 11, 2024N.D. OhioSettlement

Bradshaw

Dec 3, 2024N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Arnold Yerkes v. Ohio State Highway Patrol

Dec 2, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Blount

Nov 20, 2024M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Hamm

Nov 8, 2024M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Savel

Oct 25, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. 5 Star Masonry, LLC

Oct 8, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Morrison

Oct 8, 2024S.D. OhioSettlement

Brown

Oct 8, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

Harris

Oct 7, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Pesta

Oct 7, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Hood

Sep 30, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Lee v. Dana Incorporated

Sep 30, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Chambers

Sep 30, 2024N.D. OhioSettlement

We the Patriots USA, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

Sep 25, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Su

Sep 20, 2024N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Poplar

Sep 17, 2024E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Roesel

Sep 12, 2024N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Singer-Reed

Sep 6, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

Schuler

Sep 4, 2024W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Wedlake

Aug 22, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kaczanowski

Aug 20, 2024E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Kaczanowski

Aug 16, 2024E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Jwad

Jul 22, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Beny

Jul 17, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Bristow

Jul 17, 2024E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Vance

Jul 16, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Heimbach

Jul 10, 2024W.D. Ky.Settlement

Wise

Jul 9, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Folmar & Son, LLC

Jun 26, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Chambers

Jun 26, 2024N.D. OhioSettlement

Kovacs

Jun 20, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Doe

Jun 5, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Deneweth

May 28, 2024E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Holley

May 20, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Kaanta

May 20, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Bannum Place of Saginaw, LLC v. NLRB

May 17, 20246th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Buford

May 16, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Gavin

May 16, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Gilstrap

May 15, 2024S.D. OhioSettlement

Piddock

May 15, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

McManaway

May 7, 2024S.D. OhioSettlement

Showing 101–150 of 1,113 rulings · Page 3 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.