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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

Promedica

Oct 5, 20066th CircuitMixed Result

American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency/Central Security Service

Oct 4, 20066th CircuitMixed Result

Pearson

Sep 29, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Dudich

Sep 28, 2006N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Toledo Blade Newspaper Unions-Blade Pension Plan v. Investment Performance Services, LLC

Sep 18, 2006N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Elias Rodriguez v. Tennessee Laborers Health and Welfare Fund

Sep 14, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Rodriguez

Sep 14, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Watkins Motor Lines, Inc.

Sep 12, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. Watkins Motor Lines

Sep 12, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Local 1640

Aug 30, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Aug 22, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Temp-Masters, Inc. v. NLRB

Aug 22, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Aug 21, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Meijer, Inc., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Aug 21, 20066th CircuitMixed Result

Meijer, Inc. v. NLRB

Aug 21, 20066th CircuitMixed Result

American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency

Aug 17, 2006E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Johnson v. United States Department of Labor

Aug 16, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Guardian Armored Assets, LLC

Aug 16, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Precision Indoor Comfort Inc.

Aug 2, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Precision Indoor

Aug 2, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Sly

Jul 26, 2006E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Temp-Masters, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 17, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Temp-Masters, Inc. v. NLRB

Jul 17, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

In Re AEP Erisa Litigation

Jul 12, 2006S.D. OhioDefendant Win

In Re the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Erisa Lit.

Jul 6, 2006N.D. OhioMixed Result

Massey

Jun 29, 2006E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Neoprene Craftsmen Union Local 788 v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 27, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Adair

Jun 22, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Adair v. Charter County Of Wayne

Jun 22, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

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

Jun 16, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Shields

Jun 16, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Robert Orr/Sysco Food Services, LLC

Jun 6, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Meridia Products Liability Litigation, Steering Committee v. Abbott Laboratories

May 11, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Covenant Care of Ohio, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

May 10, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Extendicare Health Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

May 9, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Crossroads Electrical, Inc.

May 5, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

City of Monroe Employees Retirement System v. Bridgestone Corp.

May 3, 2006M.D. Tenn.Remanded

International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Afl-Cio, and Teamsters Local Union No. 2727 v. United Parcel Service Co.

Apr 26, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

Burkholder

Apr 25, 2006N.D. OhioDefendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union Of Kentucky v. Mercer County

Apr 24, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union v. Mercer County

Apr 24, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation, Inc. v. Board of Commissioners

Apr 18, 2006N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Opw Fueling Components, Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Apr 6, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Physician Services, P.S.C.

Apr 6, 2006E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

OPW Fueling v. NLRB

Apr 6, 20066th CircuitPlaintiff Win

In Re Cardinal Health, Inc. ERISA Litigation

Mar 31, 2006S.D. OhioMixed Result

Pike

Mar 29, 20066th CircuitDefendant Win

New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund v. Fruit of the Loom, Inc.

Mar 17, 2006W.D. Ky.Settlement

Jbm, Inc. v. Production Workers Union, Local 707

Mar 16, 2006S.D. OhioDismissed

Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. v. Utility Workers Union of America, Local 270

Mar 14, 20066th CircuitMixed 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.