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Employment Rulings in the Third Circuit

The Third Circuit covers the federal courts in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 871 published rulings we track here (1979–2026), 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 871 published rulings we track in the Third Circuit.

Defendant Win
406 (47%)
Plaintiff Win
154 (18%)
Dismissed
120 (14%)
Mixed Result
114 (13%)
Remanded
41 (5%)
Settlement
36 (4%)

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 863 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
259 (30%)

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
191 (22%)

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 191 summary-judgment rulings here, 129 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 62 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
312 (36%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
24 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
35 (4%)

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
36 (4%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
6 (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 Third Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Third Circuit

MCLACHLAN

Apr 15, 2025E.D. Pa.Settlement

WINTJEN

Apr 4, 2025W.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

KOLAKOWSKI

Mar 28, 2025W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Hargett

Mar 28, 2025D. Del.Defendant Win

Russell Reid Waste Hauling Disposal Service Compan v. NLRB

Mar 19, 20253rd CircuitDefendant Win

BOYKINS

Mar 11, 2025D.N.J.Defendant Win

ORFI

Mar 10, 2025D.N.J.Defendant Win

Schittler

Feb 18, 2025M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

KIMBROUGH

Feb 3, 2025E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

EVANS

Jan 29, 2025W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

CHAPLA

Jan 29, 2025E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

FASANO

Jan 27, 2025E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

PAINADATH

Jan 24, 2025E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

HUNT

Jan 14, 2025E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Brooks

Jan 13, 2025M.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

BOYD

Dec 31, 2024W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

NLRB v. Starbucks Corp

Dec 27, 20243rd CircuitMixed Result

PHATH

Dec 23, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

PAYTON-FERNANDEZ

Dec 23, 2024D.N.J.Settlement

CARN SCOTT v. WEDGE RECOVERY CENTER

Dec 20, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Secretary United States Department of Labor v. East Penn Manufacturing Inc

Dec 19, 20243rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

TRUSTEES OF THE B.A.C. LOCAL 4 PENSION FUND v. M&N CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INC.

Dec 19, 2024D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

Secretary United States Department of Labor v. East Penn Manufacturing Inc

Dec 19, 20243rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

MILLER v. TRANS UNION, LLC

Dec 17, 2024E.D. Pa.Dismissed

ANGELIS

Dec 10, 2024E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

PERRY

Dec 9, 2024D.N.J.Defendant Win

Alaris Health at Boulevard East v. NLRB

Dec 9, 20243rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL UNION 29, AFL-CIO v. ENERGY HARBOR NUCLEAR CORPORATION

Nov 13, 2024W.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

MOORE

Nov 12, 2024E.D. Pa.Settlement

GAINES

Oct 24, 2024D.N.J.Defendant Win

Mark Vitalis v. Sun Constructors, Inc.

Oct 10, 2024VIDDefendant Win

LUNDEEN

Oct 9, 2024E.D. Pa.Dismissed

REDENBAUGH

Oct 7, 2024W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

STEIN

Oct 7, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

WOLF

Sep 27, 2024D.N.J.Defendant Win

Marla Knudsen v. MetLife Group Inc

Sep 25, 20243rd CircuitDefendant Win

Fogbawah

Sep 25, 2024D. Del.Dismissed

WELCH FOODS, INC. v. GENERAL TEAMSTERS, LOCAL UNION NO. 397

Sep 23, 2024W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

DeNaples

Sep 17, 2024M.D. Pa.Dismissed

BAYLIS

Sep 17, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

NLRB v. United Scrap Metal PA LLC

Sep 16, 20243rd CircuitDefendant Win

PAN

Sep 11, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

FAIRCHILD

Sep 9, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

BROWN

Sep 4, 2024E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

GALLAGHER

Aug 28, 2024W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

WERTZ

Aug 28, 2024E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

SUMMERS

Aug 23, 2024E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

STEAHLE

Aug 22, 2024E.D. Pa.Dismissed

KELLY

Aug 20, 2024E.D. Pa.Settlement

TEAMSTERS PENSION TRUST FUND OF PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY v. A&R FENCE AND GUIDE RAIL LLC

Aug 15, 2024D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

Showing 51–100 of 871 rulings · Page 2 of 18

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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.