Thom K. Cope
Thom Cope is a partner who practices in the firm’s Employment and Labor Section. Thom is licensed to practice in Nebraska, California and Arizona. He has served as a judge in the area of public employment law and is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, and Southwest Super Lawyers. He is the author of The Executive Guide to Employment Practices, and the 2013 Supplement on The Age Discrimination in Employment Act for the Arizona Employment Law Handbook. His latest book is How Not to be a Stupid Manager.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Syracuse University with Honors, and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He has been practicing law since 1972. For twenty years, Thom was the Managing Partner of his firm, Polsky, Cope, Shiffermiller, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has been in-house counsel to companies in San Francisco and New York City.
Thom has tried over 80 jury trials to verdict, in all areas of Employment Law, Wage & Hour, and National Labor Relations Board matters. Additionally, he is a Mediator/Trainer for the Arizona Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. As a lecturer, Thom teaches Business Law, The U.S. Constitution History, Organizational Ethics and Human Resource Management Classes at the University of Phoenix and was an Adjunct Professor in Labor Law at Pima Community College. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Thom is a former Newsletter Editor of the ADR Section of the Arizona State Bar Association. He serves on many non-profit organizations as a board member and volunteer and is a past Board Chair of the Marana Chamber of Commerce.
Practice Areas
Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- State Bar of Arizona
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Nebraska
- Federal Bar Association
Education
- Syracuse University, Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science & History, minor in English
- University of Nebraska College of Law, Juris Doctor
Organizations
- Arizona State Bar’s Employment and Labor Law Section “Outstanding Achievement Award, Rogers / Hayden Award”, 2021
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Best Lawyers in America
- Arizona’s Finest Lawyers
- Southwest Super Lawyers
- Evidence and Judicial Conduct and Ethics – National Judicial College
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Board Member Neurofit Networks
- Past Board Chair, Marana Chamber of Commerce
- Past Board Member, Literacy Connects
Articles
- «Work/Life Balance
Point/Counterpoint - «The Pitfalls of Incentivizing Employees to Get Vaccinated
- «May You Require Your Employees to Take the Covid-19 Vaccine?
- «COVID-19 Liability Waivers – Are they worth it in Arizona?
- «What Employers Need to Know as the Supreme Court Expands the “Ministerial Exemption” for Religious Institutions
- «Title VII Protects LGBT Workers from Employment Discrimination
- «Workplace Investigations
- «Commercial Evictions Suspended Through May
- «EEOC Releases 2019 Statistics on Charges of Discrimination
- «DOL Finalizes Rule Excluding Certain Perks from the “Regular Rate of Pay”
- «Appointed for life, Not Eternity: Supreme Court Vacates 9th Circuit Opinion Regarding Pay Equity Filed After the Death of Judge Stephen Reinhardt
- «The Role of Entrepreneurial Opportunity in NLRB Decisions
- «Government Shutdown Blocks Access to E-Verify
- «8th Circuit Rules Vaccination Requirement for Employment is Lawful
- «Self-Reporting Wage Violations for a Release of FLSA Claims
- «Ninth Circuit Finds Employers Can Stop Class Actions with Arbitration Clauses
- «Background Check Beware: An Employer’s Obligations Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
- «Ramifications of Prop 206 AZ Minimum Wage Law
- «Recent Employment Law Developments
- «Politics Around the Water Cooler
- «A Synopsis of Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law
- «From “Us” to “Them”: You Got Your Promotion… Now What?
- «Why Sexual Harassment Should Concern You
- «The New Department of Labor Overtime Rules for Exempt Employees
- «Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law – Employer’s Rights and Responsibilities
- «CAVEAT
- «Navigating the Murky Waters of Employee Social Network Use
- «The ABCs of the ADAAA: What Employers Need to Know About Recent Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act
- «MCR Employment Morsels: Hostile Work Environment, Genetic Information, Last Paycheck Overview
- «MCR Employment Law Morsels: Arizona Whistleblower Law; References; Solicitation Policies; Who’s a Supervisor?; Accessing Your Employee’s Personal Email; You, Social Media and the National Labor Relations Board
- «The ABCs of the ADA
- «Personnel Records: Papering the File
- «Lifestyle Discrimination: Is it Legal?
- «Preventing Employment Litigation
- «Enforceability of Arbitration Agreements