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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

National Labor Relations Board v. TEC Electric, Inc.

Jul 16, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Owens Corning v. Natl Union Fire

Jul 5, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

American Civil Liberties Union v. McCreary County

Jun 22, 2001E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Industrial Experimental & Manufacturing Co.

Jun 21, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. T & C, LLC

Jun 19, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Healthcare and Ret v. NLRB

Jun 19, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Sneed

Jun 18, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Thornton

Jun 15, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Armco Employees Independent Federation v. Ak Steel Corporation

Jun 6, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Armco Employees v. AK Steel Corp

Jun 6, 20016th CircuitRemanded

Lozada

May 16, 2001W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Howard

May 10, 2001W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Queen Industrial Products Corp.

May 9, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dayton Newspapers, Inc. v. Teamsters Local Union No. 957

May 7, 2001S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Best

May 7, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

EEOC v. UPS, Inc

May 7, 20016th CircuitRemanded

Ramada Franchise Systems, Inc. v. Hanna Hotel Enterprises, LLC

May 4, 2001N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

United Food & Commercial Workers, Local Union 1099 v. City of Sidney

May 2, 2001S.D. OhioDismissed

Weaver

May 1, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board, Teamsters Local Union No. 20, Intervenor v. Seawin, Inc.

Apr 26, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Seawin Inc

Apr 26, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. J. H. Routh Packing Co.

Apr 19, 20016th CircuitRemanded

EEOC v. J H Routh Packing Co

Apr 19, 20016th CircuitRemanded

Jerome King v. Jericol Mining, Inc. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Apr 18, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Pace Local Union 1967 v. Champion International Corp.

Apr 18, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Eaton Corp. v. Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union

Apr 17, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Ohio Cast Products, Inc. v. The Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission and Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor

Apr 13, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Kenneth R. Smoot v. United Transportation Union Csx Transportation, Inc.

Apr 11, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Ass'n of Journeyman & Apprentices of the Plumbing & Pipefitters Industry, Local No. 120

Apr 11, 20016th CircuitRemanded

Smoot

Apr 11, 20016th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Association Of Journeymen And Apprentices Of The Plumbing & Pipefitting Industry Of The United States And Canada, Local No. 120

Apr 11, 20016th CircuitMixed Result

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

Apr 9, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

BE&K Constr v. NLRB

Apr 9, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Carswell

Apr 3, 2001E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Refrigeration Service, Inc.

Mar 27, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. CompManagement Health Systems, Inc.

Mar 27, 20016th CircuitSettlement

Adams

Mar 20, 2001S.D. OhioDefendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union v. Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board

Mar 16, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Fish

Mar 16, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Lucas

Mar 14, 2001W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Roadway Express, Inc. v. Administrative Review Board, U.S. Department of Labor

Mar 7, 20016th CircuitMixed Result

Sandusky Mall Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 5, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Sandusky Mall Co v. NLRB

Mar 5, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

Fuhr

Mar 2, 2001E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

International Union of Electronic v. Hurd Corp.

Feb 20, 20016th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. MBV Technologies, Inc.

Feb 7, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Gougler Industries, Inc. v. Local 169 International Union

Jan 17, 20016th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Carpentry Contractors, Inc.

Jan 4, 20016th CircuitSettlement

Booth

Dec 19, 2000W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Ass'n of Journeymen, Local No. 120

Dec 15, 20006th CircuitMixed Result

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.