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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

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CHRYSLER CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant

Jul 18, 19846th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ryder Truck Lines, Inc

Feb 29, 19846th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Chrysler Corp.

Jan 24, 1984E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Comprehensive Health Planning Council of Southeastern Michigan

Oct 12, 19836th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dayton Tire & Rubber Co.

Apr 18, 1983S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. St. Joseph Paper Co.

Feb 18, 1983W.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Com'n v. Peterbilt Motors Co

Nov 24, 19826th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Union Camp Corp.

Jan 5, 1982W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. K-Mart Corp.

Oct 27, 1981E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wooster Brush Co.

Oct 8, 1981N.D. OhioMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Credit Consultants, Inc.

Aug 26, 1981N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Beer Distributing Co

Nov 14, 19806th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Picoma Industries, Inc

Aug 13, 19806th CircuitPlaintiff Win

26 Fair empl.prac.cas. 808, 24 Wage & Hour Cas. (Bn 1189 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Magnavox Co. Of Tennessee

Jul 17, 19806th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. International Union of Electric, Radio and MacHine Workers, Afl-Cio, Clc, Local 758

May 16, 19806th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Parts Fabricators, Inc

Apr 25, 19806th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Bronson Methodist Hospital

Nov 7, 1979W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Reserve Bank

Oct 31, 1979W.D. Tenn.Settlement

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Picoma Industries, Inc.

Jul 26, 1978S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Southwest Motor Freight, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 13, 1976E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Production Molded Plastics, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 13, 1976N.D. OhioDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Hardeman Garment Corp.

Jan 15, 1976W.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

McClain Industries, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 17, 1974E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Com'n v. Duff Bros., Inc.

Sep 27, 1973E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Airlines Parking v. Nlrb

Dec 6, 19726th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Western Stamping

Dec 1, 19726th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Valley Mold Co. Inc

Oct 26, 19726th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hoomaian

Oct 24, 19726th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Local Union 110

Oct 17, 19726th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Association Of Journeymen And Apprentices Of The Plumbing And Pipefitting Industry Of The United States And Canada, Local Union No. 189

Feb 3, 19716th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Ohio Power Co. v. N.L.R.B.

Jul 25, 19496th 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.