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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

Kvintus

Apr 7, 1998E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Tomblin

Mar 26, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Primes

Mar 19, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Raciti-Hur

Jan 29, 1998E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ellis

Jan 27, 1998E.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Glenn R. Black, M.D. v. Barberton Citizens Hospital

Jan 23, 19986th CircuitRemanded

21 Employee Benefits Cas. 2249, Pens. Plan Guide (Cch) P 23940b

Jan 8, 19986th CircuitDefendant Win

Shannahan

Jan 6, 1998N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Olsen

Sep 30, 1997N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Schaub Ex Rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Detroit Newspaper Agency

Aug 14, 1997E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Frito-Lay

May 13, 1997W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Ahlers

Apr 30, 1997E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Frank's Nursery & Crafts, Inc.

Apr 22, 1997E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Walker

Apr 3, 1997E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ford Motor Company

Sep 30, 19966th CircuitDefendant Win

Pens. Plan Guide P 23927r Richard L. Amato v. Equicor Severance Pay Plan

Sep 20, 19966th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Freedom Adult Foster Care Corp.

Jun 14, 1996E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Allen Petroleum Company of East Tennessee, Inc., D/B/A Okee Dokee No. 18

Jun 12, 19966th CircuitMixed Result

International Union v. Aluminum Co. of America

Apr 22, 1996N.D. OhioMixed Result

Stefanovic

Apr 8, 1996E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Coffey

Mar 14, 1996E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Chrysler Corp.

Mar 6, 1996E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Fritz

Feb 13, 1996E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Creager

Feb 9, 1996E.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Hess

Jan 25, 1996E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Jerrold MOOS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. the SQUARE D COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee

Dec 22, 19956th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Association of Journeymen

Dec 13, 19956th CircuitDismissed

19 Employee Benefits Cas. 2351, Pens. Plan Guide P 23915t Ernest L. Akers v. Valfrid E. Palmer Alco Gravure Industries, Inc., Donald H. McKinnon

Dec 11, 19956th CircuitDefendant Win

Raines

Nov 22, 1995E.D. Tenn.Settlement

28 Ucc rep.serv.2d 531, prod.liab.rep. (Cch) P 14,411 Ada M. Martin Harold L. Martin v. Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc.

Nov 20, 19956th CircuitDefendant Win

Hiefner

Nov 20, 1995E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Javetz

Oct 31, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Coffman

Oct 26, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

McFarland

Oct 12, 1995E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Hakken

Sep 29, 1995E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Thompson

Aug 21, 1995W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Nemeckay

Jul 31, 1995E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ham

Jul 21, 1995E.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Walden Book Co.

May 4, 1995M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Curtis L. Wrenn v. Tony E. Gallegos, Chairman, Eeoc

Feb 10, 19956th CircuitDefendant Win

International Union, U.A.W. v. Aluminum Co. of America

Jan 19, 1995N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Ana Leon T. v. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Federal Reserve Employee Benefits Systems - Thrift Plan

Nov 14, 19946th CircuitDefendant Win

Wixson

Nov 4, 1994W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Brocklehurst

Oct 26, 1994E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Sandison

Sep 13, 1994E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ford Motor Credit Company

Jun 13, 19946th CircuitMixed Result

Maddox

May 31, 1994E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. WILSON METAL CASKET COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant

May 23, 19946th CircuitPlaintiff Win

John Doe v. Clarence Thomas Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Apr 27, 19946th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. United States Postal Service

Mar 7, 19946th CircuitPlaintiff Win

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.