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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

Hines

Nov 26, 2002N.D. OhioRemanded

BE & K Construction Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 21, 20026th CircuitRemanded

Barry Baker Anonymous 1 v. Adams County/ohio Valley School Board, Christine Armstrong, Kenneth W. Johnson, Intervening

Nov 19, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Baker

Nov 19, 20026th CircuitRemanded

Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor v. Tradesmen International, Inc.

Nov 15, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Northwest Airlines, Inc.

Oct 30, 2002W.D. Tenn.Remanded

Salim

Oct 29, 2002E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Wright

Sep 30, 2002E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Branham

Sep 27, 2002E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Wallace

Sep 13, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Laborers' International Union

Sep 12, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Glenn's Trucking Co., Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Sep 9, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

American Civil Liberties Union v. Mercer County

Sep 6, 2002E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

PDV Midwest Refining, L.L.C. v. Armada Oil & Gas Co.

Sep 5, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

PDV Midwest v. Armada Oil

Sep 5, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Kamtech, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 4, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Kamtech, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 4, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Blatt

Aug 30, 2002N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Deneau

Aug 30, 2002E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Babbitt

Aug 26, 20026th CircuitDismissed

American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio v. Taft

Aug 26, 2002S.D. OhioDefendant Win

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 911 v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

Aug 22, 20026th CircuitRemanded

Albertson's Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 20, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Albertson's Inc

Aug 20, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Albertson's Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 20, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Jagers

Aug 13, 20026th CircuitDismissed

Marbly

Aug 13, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union, Local 5-0550, Local 5-727 v. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

Aug 12, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Williams v. Emco Maier Corp.

Aug 12, 2002S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Combs

Aug 12, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Wolf Creek Collieries v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Department of Labor Evelyn Stephens

Aug 2, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

MacDonald

Jul 26, 2002N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services, Inc., Petitioners/cross-Respondents v. National Labor Relations Board, Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Jul 25, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Beverly Health v. NLRB

Jul 25, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Chisolm

Jul 24, 2002E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Sherry Jones v. Union County, Tennessee Union County Sheriff's Department

Jul 16, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Jones

Jul 16, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Dupont Dow Elastomers, L.L.C v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 15, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Dupont Dow v. NLRB

Jul 15, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dupont Dow Elastomers, L.L.C. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 15, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

Fewless Ex Rel. Fewless v. Board of Education of Wayland Union Schools

Jul 11, 2002W.D. Mich.Mixed Result

TNS, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 10, 20026th CircuitMixed Result

TNS, Inc. v. NLRB

Jul 10, 20026th CircuitRemanded

Tns, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 10, 20026th CircuitMixed Result

Gliatta

Jul 8, 2002S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Capitol Beverage Co. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 580

Jul 8, 2002W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Secretary of the United States Department of Labor v. George D. Gilley Billy Dean Goforth Century Health Services, Inc.

Jul 1, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

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

Jun 28, 20026th CircuitDefendant Win

FiveCap

Jun 28, 20026th CircuitPlaintiff Win

French

Jun 24, 2002M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Browse Other 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.