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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

Sprague

Feb 2, 1994E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Eddins

Dec 5, 1993E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Martinez

Nov 8, 1993W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Sandra E. Davis v. Nicholas F. Brady, Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Oct 22, 19936th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ohio Edison Company

Oct 20, 19936th CircuitRemanded

Richard C. Vaughan v. Equicor Severance Pay Plan Equicor, Inc. Equicor-Equitable Hca Corporation

Aug 24, 19936th CircuitDefendant Win

Cavazos

May 21, 1993W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Yanakeff

Apr 19, 1993E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Sandman

Dec 30, 1992W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Severance Tool Industries, Inc., Respondent(s)

Nov 17, 19926th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dornan

Nov 12, 1992E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Central Transport, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Sep 17, 1992E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Heath

Sep 2, 1992E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Daniel L. Edwards, Jr. v. Dolores Rozzi, Director, Eeoc Office of Review and Appeals

Jun 12, 19926th CircuitDefendant Win

David M. Brown v. The Equitable Financial Companies U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Apr 8, 19926th CircuitDismissed

Kaiser

Mar 2, 1992E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Jesse A. Tolbert v. Clarence Thomas, Chairman, of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Feb 28, 19926th CircuitDefendant Win

Severance Tool Industries, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 5, 19926th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Detroit-Macomb Hospital Corp. A/K/A MacOmb Hospital Center

Jan 27, 19926th CircuitDefendant Win

Bolen

Jan 9, 1992E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Yedla

May 24, 1991E.D. Mich.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dillard Department Stores, Inc.

Feb 19, 1991W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Rodgers

Feb 12, 1991E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Anderson

Feb 5, 1991E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tree of Life Christian Schools

Oct 22, 1990S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arlington Transit Mix Inc.

Apr 12, 1990E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Patrick Henry Education Ass'n

Mar 13, 1990N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Monks

Feb 14, 1990E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sizes Unlimited, Inc.

Sep 14, 1989E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Luckmar Plastics, Inc.

Sep 7, 19896th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Giles Industries, Inc.

Jun 30, 1989E.D. Tenn.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Argent Industries, Inc.

Jun 23, 1989S.D. OhioDismissed

Sargent v. INTERN. BROTH. OF TEAMSTERS

May 26, 1989E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Marsh

Feb 16, 1989E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Mitchell v. Connecticut General Life Ins. Co., Inc.

Oct 6, 1988E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Kelly

Aug 26, 1988E.D. Mich.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Penton Industrial Publishing Company, Inc.

Jul 13, 19886th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mid-South Automobile Club

Jun 16, 19886th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Harper Grace Hospitals

Apr 25, 1988E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

10 Employee Benefits Ca 1197, 10 Employee Benefits Ca 1203, 24 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1006 Charles Daniel v. Eaton Corporation

Mar 17, 19886th CircuitRemanded

Jesse A. Tolbert v. Jesse A. Vidaurri and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Mar 8, 19886th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Star Tool & Die Works, Inc.

Dec 17, 1987E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Tompkins

Mar 16, 1987E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Ninth and O Baptist Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Aug 15, 19866th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pyro Mining Company, Inc.

Apr 15, 19866th CircuitDefendant Win

Morris May v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Ohio Civil Rights Commission

Apr 11, 19866th CircuitDefendant Win

Lary E. Grimes v. Department of the Army, Merit Systems Protection Board Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Veterans Administration

Mar 20, 19866th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Mar 7, 1986M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. J.C. Penney Co.

Dec 6, 1985E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Morris May v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Sep 20, 19856th CircuitDismissed

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.