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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

Adams

Jul 19, 2007E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Wuerth

Jul 17, 2007S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Stefanie Shields v. Government Employees Hospital Association, Inc. And State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

Jul 16, 20076th CircuitPlaintiff Win

McNeill

Jun 27, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Katter

Jun 21, 2007S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Blessing

Jun 20, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Northern Michigan Building & Construction Trades Council v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 20, 20076th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lucent Technologies, Inc.

Jun 19, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. St. Mary's Acquisition Co.

Jun 14, 20076th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dobson Industrial, Inc. v. Iron Workers Local Union No. 25

Jun 5, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Bach

May 15, 20076th CircuitMixed Result

J.B.D.L. Corp. v. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Inc.

May 10, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

J.B.D.L. Corporation v. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Inc.

May 10, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Lewis

Apr 26, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Thomas Wenner v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada

Apr 12, 20076th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Burrell

Apr 12, 2007S.D. OhioDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Local 334, Laborers International Union

Apr 6, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Local 334

Apr 6, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Hoyer

Apr 4, 20076th CircuitDismissed

Center Construction Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 3, 20076th CircuitMixed Result

Anna Maday v. Public Libraries of Saginaw

Mar 28, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Maday

Mar 28, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Rachells

Mar 23, 2007N.D. OhioMixed Result

Laborers Pension Trust Fund v. Interior Exterior Specialists Construction Group, Inc.

Mar 21, 2007E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Maynard

Mar 16, 2007S.D. OhioMixed Result

DynCorp, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 16, 20076th CircuitMixed Result

J.B. Laboratories, Inc. v. Zee Medical, Inc.

Mar 16, 20076th CircuitDismissed

Sears

Mar 8, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Peterbilt Motors Co. v. UAW International Union

Mar 7, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Citizens Insurance Co. of America v. Pitney Bowes Software Systems Employee Medical & Health Care Service Corp.

Mar 2, 2007E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Angel

Feb 28, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Union Planters Bank, N.A. v. Continental Casualty Co.

Feb 27, 20076th CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Newcor Bay City Division of Newcor, Inc.

Feb 15, 20076th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Michigan Family Resources, Inc. v. Service Employees International Union Local 517m

Jan 26, 20076th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Jan 24, 2007E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Roumeliote

Jan 23, 2007S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Moore

Jan 18, 2007E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Abusada

Jan 8, 20076th CircuitDefendant Win

Darryl White v. Detroit Edison Company, Utility Workers Union of America Afl-Cio, and Utility Workers Union of America Local 223

Dec 22, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Gilbert v. National Employee Benefit Companies, Inc.

Dec 22, 2006N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Vanguard Fire & Supply Co., Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 21, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Vanguard Fire & Supply Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 21, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Family Fare, Inc.

Nov 13, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jefferson County Sheriff's Department

Oct 31, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dozier

Oct 27, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sundance Rehabilitation Corp.

Oct 24, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Union Fire Insurance v. Alticor, Inc.

Oct 18, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Lubrizol Corp. v. National Union Fire Insurance

Oct 17, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Richards

Oct 11, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

In re Broadwing, Inc. Erisa Litigation

Oct 5, 2006S.D. OhioSettlement

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.