Joni M. Thome

• U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
• Minnesota Women Lawyers
• Minnesota Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
• Minnesota State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section, Member
• National Gay and Lesbian Law Association, Past Chair and Board Member
• Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, Founder, Past Chair and Board Member Emeritus
• Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter, Member
• Hennepin County Bar Association, Member

• Ritter v. Auntie Ruth’s Furry Friends, No. A14-1044 (Minn. Ct. App. Feb. 9, 2015) (reversing dismissal of MHRA age discrimination case wherein just 45 days after new owners of the business took control, plaintiff’s manager made derogatory comments about plaintiff’s age, including complaining to plaintiff that “you cost a lot” (referencing her insurance premiums) and “we can’t afford to keep you,” criticizing plaintiff’s clothing as being “from the 70s,” and being told by the manager repeatedly that plaintiff was not close enough in age to the rest of the staff to relate to them and that there were “generational things” or “generation gaps” between plaintiff and the younger employees)
• Davis v. Hennepin Cty., 559 N.W.2d 117 (Minn. Ct. App. 1997) (establishing precedent that statutory immunity is not available as a defense to MHRA claims and reversing summary judgment in favor of plaintiff on her discrimination claim because a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding whether employee’s managers acted willfully or maliciously in responding to plaintiff’s complaint)
• EEOC et al. v. Long Prairie Packing (1998) (represented several individual clients as well as working with the EEOC for class members who were victims of same-sex and opposite sex sexual harassment; the matters resulted in settlements totaling over $2 million that were distributed to employees of the company, some of whom had been subjected to years of working in a sexually hostile work environment)
• EEOC v. Fed. Express Corp., 165 F.Supp. 2d 956 (D. Minn. 2001) (setting precedent for the recognition of AIDS as a qualifying disability under the ADA; denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment where genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether defendant-employer met its obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to former employee diagnosed with AIDS)
• Goins v. West Grp., 635 N.W.2d 717 (Minn. 2001) (establishing transgender former employee was member of class protected under the MHRA)
• Sonkowsky ex rel. Sonkowsky v. Board of Educ. for Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 721, 327 F.3d 675 (8th Cir. 2003) (asserting school violated elementary student’s first and fourteenth amendment rights and discriminated against him because of a disability in violation of the MHRA when he was required to color a picture of a football player in Minnesota Vikings’ colors, was prohibited from wearing a Green Bay Packers’ jersey in class photo and was denied participating in school field trip to the Vikings’ practice facility at Winter Park)
• Brenden v. Westonka Public Schs., No. EM 03-017571 (Dist. Ct. Minn. 2004) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of age discrimination and workers’ compensation retaliation where genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether plaintiff’s position was eliminated as part of a reduction-in-force, and whether the facts surrounding the elimination of the plaintiff’s position, creation of a similar position, and the decision not to hire plaintiff for the newly created position, despite his prior good work evaluations, was a pretext for illegal motives; subsequently, judgment entered for plaintiff following jury trial and award of damages)
• Roslyn v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., No. 05-0441 2005 WL 1529937 (D. Minn. June 29, 2005) (denial of defendant’s motion to dismiss where plaintiff sufficiently alleged that defendant discriminated against him in violation of USERRA by denying him benefits because of his military reserve status)
• Baker v. Am. Furniture Liquidators, No. 27-CV-06-4642 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Nov. 13, 2006) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of sexual harassment hostile work environment in violation of the MHRA, finding defendant could not assert affirmative defense and that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether defendant’s conduct was sufficiently severe and pervasive to create a hostile work environment)
• Henry v. Indigenous People’s Task Force, No. A06-160, 2006 WL 3719658 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 19, 2006) (holding district court erred in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment, because the evidence raised a genuine issue of material fact as to the credibility of defendant’s articulated reason for termination and supported an inference that defendant terminated plaintiff and then sought justification ex post facto)
• Schutz v. Minneapolis Sch. Dist. Special Sch. Dist. No. 1, No. 27-CV-06-474 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Jan. 24, 2007) (following trial, judgment entered in favor of plaintiff on her claim of reprisal in violation of the MHRA, awarding damages in the amount of $149,000 plus damages for emotional distress in the amount of $50,000, attorney’s fees and costs)
• Schaich v. Int’l Seals, Inc., No. 27-CV-06-16894 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Sept. 12, 2007) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of retaliation under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act because a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether defendant’s reason for terminating plaintiff was pretextual where the facts indicated defendant terminated plaintiff shortly after he refused to unload boxes containing dead animals because he thought it was unsafe and voiced his opposition to defendant; subsequently, judgment entered for plaintiff following jury trial and award of damages)
• Frieler v. Carlson Mktg. Grp., Inc., 751 N.W.2d 558 (Minn. 2008) (setting precedent that a plaintiff alleging sexual harassment by a supervisor in violation of the MHRA is not required to prove employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take timely and appropriate action; and setting precedent that employer is subject to vicarious liability for an actionable hostile environment created by supervisor with immediate or successively higher authority over victimized employee)
• Kaufenberg v. Schwan’s Home Serv., Inc., No. A08-0114, 2009 WL 234014 (Minn. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2009) (genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether employee’s termination for the alleged falsification of medical records was pretext where employee presented legitimate explanation for the omissions on her medical report, employer had a policy of not terminating employees for mistakes and termination followed worker’s compensation claim)
• Hollenkamp v. Jennie-O, No. 07-CV-04725 (D. Minn. June 1, 2009) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of disability discrimination because genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether defendant’s reasons for firing plaintiff were pretextual where defendant fired plaintiff, a longtime employee, shortly after plaintiff became disabled)
• Lemon v. City of Minneapolis, No. 27-CV-08-11976 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Dec. 1, 2009) (following a bench trial, the district court entered judgment in favor of plaintiff on her claims of reprisal in violation of the MHRA and reprisal under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act, finding that defendant’s insults, demotion, and attempt to fire plaintiff demonstrated a “campaign of retaliatory actions” toward her based on her complaints about her work environment)
• Bahr v. Capella Univ., 765 N.W.2d 428 (Minn. Ct. App. 2009) cert. granted (June 18, 2009) (setting standard for statutorily protected conduct in retaliation cases under the MHRA)
• Bahr v. Capella Univ., 788 N.W.2d 76 (Minn. 2010) (establishing that employee need not prove underlying merits of a discrimination/hostile environment to prove retaliation claim under the MHRA; the employee need only demonstrate that she had a good faith reasonable belief that conduct she opposed was a violation of the MHRA)
• Truehl v. Roundy’s Supermarket, Inc., No. 27-CV-09-18698 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Apr. 23, 2010) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of reprisal in violation of the MHRA because several genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether plaintiff engaged in protected conduct when she requested schedule changes accompanied by notes from her doctor regarding her disability)
• Brezina et al. v. Chart (D. Minn. 2010) (order denying summary judgment for multiple employees where genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether these employees entered into valid settlement agreements with their former employer because they did not sign the agreements knowingly and voluntarily)
• Schwarzkopf v. Brunswick Corp., 833 F.Supp. 2d 1106 (D. Minn. 2011) (partial denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment where genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether former employee was subjected to a hostile work environment when his co-workers repeatedly made derogatory comments about his perceived disability over a period of more than a year)
• Harnan v. Univ. of St. Thomas, 776 F.Supp. 2d 938 (D. Minn. 2011) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s FMLA interference claim where genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether plaintiff suffered from a serious health condition and whether plaintiff was entitled to the benefits of the FMLA; and denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment for plaintiff’s FMLA retaliation claim where genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether defendant’s proffered reason for termination was pretext for plaintiff’s termination)
• Adamson v. Mattamy Homes, No. 27-CV-13-2612 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Oct. 17, 2013) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim for age discrimination under the MHRA because genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether defendant’s reasons for termination were pretext where two younger employees replaced plaintiff after she was terminated)

• MSBA Certified Employment Law Specialist

• Cancer Legal Care, Attorney Referral Program Volunteer
• Just Us Health, Attorney Referral Program Volunteer
• OutFront Minnesota, Attorney Referral Program Volunteer
• Minnesota AIDS Project, Volunteer Attorney Program

• Best Lawyers in America©, Litigation – Labor & Employment, 2018-2023
• Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, Community Service Award, 1999
• Karla Wahl Award Recipient, National Employment Lawyer Association, Minnesota Chapter, 2012
• Super Lawyers® Super Lawyer, Employment Litigation: Plaintiff, 2002-2004, 2006-2022
• Top 100 Minnesota Super Lawyers®, 2014-2016, 2020-2022
• Top 100 Minnesota Women Super Lawyers®, 2007-2009
• Top 50 Minnesota Women Super Lawyers®, 2012-2022

• University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Arts, Major in psychology Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 1983

• Anti-Harassment Policies and Complaint Procedures – Best Practices, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Leonard B. Segal, May 24, 2022
• Reconciling Nondiscrimination with the Affirmation of Cultural Diversity, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Volume 13, Number 2, Fall 1997
• American Association of Law Libraries, Annual Conference, Speaker, 2001
• Lavender Law Conference, National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, Speaker, 1993, 2001-2004, 2017
• Ethics and Bias Seminar, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, Presenter, 2001
• Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History, Documentary, Attorney Interview, 2010
• Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity, University of St. Thomas, Panelist, 2010
• Minneapolis Fire Department, The Kris Lemon Story, Insider Exclusive, Attorney Interview, 2013
• Disability Discrimination, Caregiver Discrimination, FMLA Violations, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Annual Presenter
• Reflection on the 20th Anniversary of the 1995 HCBA Report, William Mitchell College of Law, Law Review, Volume 41, Issue 1: LGBTQ Issues, 2015
• Top 10 Employment Claims Plaintiffs Lawyers Overlook, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Chris Jozwiak, May 24, 2016
• Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Recent Developments in Employment Law, MLBA Annual Conference, Panelist with Dustin W. Massie, Feb. 4, 2017
• Employment Claims Arising Out of Workers’ Compensation Claims, Minnesota CLE Workers’ Compensation Institute, Panelist with Tom Atkinson, Apr. 27, 2017
• 2017 ADA Update, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Kathryn Mrkonich-Wilson, May 22-23, 2017
• “Uptown Diner Fires 2 Workers Photographed Wearing Nazi Uniforms,” Star Tribune, Interview, Aug. 17, 2017
• Wait…That Happened at Work?: When Inappropriate Workplace Conduct Becomes Actionable, Mitchell Hamline School of Law Alumni CLE Series, Panelist with Frances Baillon, Jan. 12, 2018
• Transgender Rights-Persistence in Advocacy, Eighth Circuit National Employment Lawyers Association Conference, Panelist with Phil Kitzer, Ferne Wolf and Jill Silverstein, Apr. 6, 2018
• Winning the Harassment Case – Strategies and Tactics, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Kathleen Bogas, Jim Kaster and David Schlesinger, May 22, 2018
• Winning the Reprisal Case – Top Employment Litigators Tell How, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Kathleen Bogas, and Lucas Kaster, May 22, 2018
• The Impact of Political Polarization: Proving Discrimination Through Political Speech, MDHR Human Rights Symposium, Co-Presenter with Dustin Massie, Dec. 5, 2018
• Investigations of an Employee’s Alleged Misconduct, Minnesota CLE, Panelist with Leonard Segal, Feb. 8, 2019
• 8 Most Important Whistleblower Cases – The Cases You Must Know and How They Impact Plaintiffs and Defense, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Sara McGrane, May 20, 2019
• Employees with Cancer—Finding Compliant, Effective Solutions to Workplace Challenges Employees with Cancer Face, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist, 2020
• LGBTQ+ Employee Rights – 17 Common Questions and Their Answers, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Co-panelist with Megan Anderson, 2021
• Who Will Work Remotely, How Often, and Who Decides, Chapter 5, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute Handbook (2022), Author with Megan Anderson
• Employment Claims Arising Out of Workers’ Compensation Claims, Minnesota CLE Workers’ Compensation Institute, Panelist with Tom Atkinson, Apr. 22, 2022
• Remote and Hybrid Workplaces, Minnesota CLE, Aug. 11, 2022

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