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PRACTICE AREA
EDUCATION
Luther College
- B.A., 1988
University of Iowa College of Law
- J.D., 1992
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE (STATE)
- State of Iowa, 1992
ASSOCIATIONS, BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
American Bar Association
- Labor & Employment Law Section
Iowa State Bar Association
- Member
Linn County Bar Association
- Member
Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys
- Member
Iowa Defense Counsel
- Member
RECOGNITION
- Selected in December 2008 Super Lawyers publication for Labor & Employment law.
Our Attorneys
Position: Member
E-Mail: twolle@simmonsperrine.com
Phone: 319.366.7641
Fax: 319.366.1917
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Thomas D. Wolle is a member of Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC. Mr. Wolle focuses his practice in the areas of workers’ compensation defense and labor and employment law. He also engages in commercial litigation, and in particular disputes between business partners and shareholders. Prior to joining the firm Mr. Wolle was a member of Moyer & Bergman and served on the firm’s executive committee.
Mr. Wolle’s workers’ compensation practice includes representation of large, self-insured employers as well as those employers who procure workers’ compensation insurance from insurers and third-party administrators. His labor and employment law practice involves representing primarily employers in the broad range of employment-based claims that are frequently asserted in litigated cases brought in administrative agencies, and in state and federal court. Mr. Wolle has tried numerous cases to juries and judges, and has handled multiple appeals in both state and federal court. His litigation and jury trial experience includes cases involving race discrimination, national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, age discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and also cases involving various wrongful termination claims, the FMLA, non-compete/unfair competition, drug testing, and contract-based claims. He has also handled numerous matters involving allegations that employees have left employment in violation of restrictive covenants and/or have misappropriated trade secrets of the former employer. Mr. Wolle’s labor law practice has included handling the trial and appeal of cases pending before the NLRB, enforcement proceedings of orders of the NLRB, labor arbitrations, and collective bargaining.
Mr. Wolle devotes a significant portion of his time counseling employers in developing and implementing effective workplace policies, and in preventing discriminatory practices from occurring in the workplace. A former instructor of workers’ compensation law and litigation at Kirkwood Community College and Labor Relations at Mount Mercy College, he frequently speaks at seminars on the law areas in which he practices.
Mr. Wolle is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa and in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Linn County, Iowa State and American Bar Associations. He received his law degree with distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he also served as an Associate Editor of the Iowa Law Review in 1991-1992.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thomas Wolle Speaks at Two Seminars
Thomas Wolle spoke at two recent seminars. On October 15, 2009, he spoke at the Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers' 31st annual seminar in Des Moines. His topic was apportionment. On November 13, 2009, he spoke at the Iowa State Bar Association's Labor & Employment Law seminar in Des Moines. His topic was Americans with Disabilities Act Regulatory and Case law update.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Federal Judge Dismisses Entire ‘Class’ Claim of EEOC
Chief Judge Linda Reade has entered the final judgment in a series of rulings against the EEOC in a massive but “untenable” case it brought against the privately held national trucking firm, CRST Van Expedited, headquartered in Cedar Rapids. Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman and the Chicago firm Jenner & Block LLP represented CRST in the case.
Other, like cases brought by the EEOC have languished in federal courts for years, with very few, if any, having actually been brought to trial or summary dismissal. The court criticized the EEOC’s “sue first, ask questions later” litigation strategy, observing, “The government, like its citizens, must follow the law.” This order follows earlier orders: 1) granting summary judgment to CRST in determining that no reasonable jury could conclude that CRST tolerated a "pattern or practice" of sex harassment as part of its "standard operating procedure"; 2) dismissing more than 100 prospective claimants as a discovery sanction against the EEOC for its failure to make the women available for depositions; 3) granting summary judgment to the employer on nearly 90 individual claims as the claimed conduct failed to rise to the level actionable by law; and 4) dismissing several claims because of inconsistent statements made by claimants in bankruptcy. At least seven SPMB attorneys were called upon to depose claimants across the country beginning in 2008 when the government provided CRST “a continuously moving target” of the number of claimants involved. The court has also invited CRST to apply for its attorneys' fees as a “prevailing party.” For further information, please contact Kevin Visser or Thomas Wolle.
