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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

Sedric Ward v. Shelby County, Tenn.

Apr 11, 20246th CircuitDefendant Win

Greer

Apr 1, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Tribuzio

Apr 1, 2024E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Crockett

Mar 30, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Guy

Mar 29, 2024E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Prado

Mar 25, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Tambo

Mar 13, 2024W.D. Ky.Remanded

PENDLETON

Mar 12, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Stephens

Mar 5, 2024S.D. OhioSettlement

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Kyle J. Sherman Excavating, LLC

Feb 28, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Wesel

Feb 26, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Hamilton

Feb 13, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Hamilton

Feb 8, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Castor

Feb 1, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Hill

Jan 24, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Stewart

Jan 9, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Elliott

Jan 4, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Haase

Jan 2, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Meade

Dec 15, 2023N.D. OhioMixed Result

Lemieux

Dec 15, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Stoumile

Dec 5, 2023S.D. OhioDismissed

Olah

Nov 6, 2023E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Demers

Nov 1, 2023S.D. OhioMixed Result

Pitty

Oct 31, 2023N.D. OhioSettlement

White

Oct 30, 2023N.D. OhioSettlement

McElroy

Oct 30, 2023N.D. OhioSettlement

Radabaugh

Oct 5, 2023S.D. OhioSettlement

Jobe

Sep 30, 2023N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Mishos

Sep 12, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Moore

Aug 31, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Allen

Aug 29, 2023S.D. OhioSettlement

Wells

Aug 23, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Kramer

Aug 11, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

M. Kathleen McKinney v. Starbucks Corp.

Aug 8, 20236th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hicks

Jul 31, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Department of Labor v. Americare Healthcare Services, LLC

Jul 28, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Bannum Place of Saginaw, LLC v. NLRB

Jul 28, 20236th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Oglesby

Jul 25, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Bennett

Jul 19, 2023N.D. OhioDismissed

Carter

Jul 18, 2023E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Cook

Jul 6, 2023W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Secretary, Department of Labor v. MICA Contracting, LLC

Jun 29, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Stefanelli

Jun 28, 2023W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Harmon v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America

Jun 23, 2023E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Mance

Jun 20, 2023N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Trustees of the Plumbers' and Pipefitters' Local 162 Pension Fund v. Bruner Corporation

Jun 16, 2023S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Schwebke

Jun 8, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Jackson v. Genesee County Road Commission

Jun 1, 2023E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ray

May 26, 2023W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Qiu

May 26, 2023E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Showing 151–200 of 1,113 rulings · Page 4 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.