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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

Shipley

Jan 31, 2025E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Popp

Jan 30, 2025S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Morrow

Jan 29, 2025W.D. Tenn.Settlement

Townes

Jan 28, 2025W.D. Tenn.Settlement

Gellani

Jan 27, 2025E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Supreme Staffing LLC

Jan 24, 2025W.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Robards

Jan 23, 2025M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Fouts

Jan 15, 2025W.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Richards

Jan 14, 2025N.D. OhioDismissed

Montenegro

Jan 10, 2025M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Davis

Jan 10, 2025E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Department of Labor v. Americare Healthcare Services, LLC

Jan 9, 2025S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

McNeal

Jan 8, 2025S.D. OhioDismissed

Harrington

Jan 8, 2025N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Powell

Jan 7, 2025S.D. OhioDismissed

Fluker

Jan 7, 2025E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Keith Herman v. MetalTek International, Inc.

Jan 6, 2025N.D. OhioMixed Result

Oellien

Jan 6, 2025E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Maney

Jan 3, 2025M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Mercer

Jan 3, 2025M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Vilk

Dec 31, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Doe

Dec 27, 2024E.D. Mich.Settlement

White

Dec 20, 2024M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Shackleford

Dec 20, 2024W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Motley

Dec 19, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Cummings v. State Of Ohio

Dec 17, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

Moore

Dec 12, 2024M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Vilk

Dec 11, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Fisher

Dec 11, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Peck

Dec 11, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

Clark v. Memphis Animal Services

Dec 11, 2024W.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Adam Fried v. Jose Garcia

Dec 9, 20246th CircuitDismissed

Farley

Dec 6, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Aspire Regional Partners, Inc.

Dec 5, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Bradshaw

Dec 3, 2024N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Arnold Yerkes v. Ohio State Highway Patrol

Dec 2, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Blount

Nov 20, 2024M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Sommers

Nov 18, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Davita Inc. v. Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Health Benefit Plan

Nov 14, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Andreski

Nov 8, 2024W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Green

Nov 8, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Hamm

Nov 8, 2024M.D. Tenn.Settlement

Ruff

Nov 7, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Stafford

Nov 7, 2024E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Hodge

Nov 7, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Fugate

Nov 7, 2024E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Ferrer

Oct 31, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Wedding

Oct 30, 2024W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Berrier

Oct 28, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

Savel

Oct 25, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

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.