TYBO ALAN WILHELMS has practiced law with Bugbee & Conkle, LLP continuously since 1976. He concentrates his practice in the areas of employment law (representing employers in all aspects of the employment relationship), federal litigation and appellate work, and business law. Mr. Wilhelms also speaks frequently to business and attorney groups on a wide array of employment law issues, but especially as pertains to the relationship of the Family and Medical Leave Act, workers’ compensation, and the disability/handicap discrimination laws.
Mr. Wilhelms has defended employers in trials in both state courts (including all of the counties of Northwest Ohio, such as Lucas, Williams, Defiance, Fulton, Wood, Erie, Sandusky, Henry, Putnam, Hancock and Allen counties), as well as in the federal district courts for the Northern District of Ohio in both Toledo and Cleveland, and the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus and Cincinnati. In addition, Mr. Wilhelms has represented employers in the courts of appeals of the state of Ohio, as well as the federal court of appeals located in Cincinnati, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. These lawsuits arose under a number of employment related statutes and claims, including wrongful discharge, discrimination on the basis of race, gender/sex, disability, age, national origin, and union activity, and such laws as the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Relations Act and federal and Ohio “whistleblower” protection laws. In addition, Mr. Wilhelms has represented employers before such agencies as the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) on a variety of employment related matters.
Mr. Wilhelms, who has been recognized as an AV rated attorney by his peers for more than 30 years, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in 1971, where he was President of the student body of James Madison College. Mr. Wilhelms received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toledo Law School in 1976, where he also served as the Executive Editor of the Law Review.
Mr. Wilhelms has served as the President of the Board of Trustees of Stone Oak Country Club, and is a member of Grace United Methodist Church where he has served in a number of positions, including Lay Leader and Chairman of two building campaigns. Mr. Wilhelms is married, and enjoys golf, downhill skiing, travel, reading and spending time with his grandchildren.
Bar Admissions:
- Ohio, 1976;
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,1983;
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 1977;
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1987
Practices
Noteworthy Cases:
- Secretary of Labor, OSHA v. Speer Brothers, Inc.
- Secretary of Labor, OSHA v. P & W Painting Contractors
- Secretary of Labor v. Skylink, Ltd.
- Secretary of Labor, OSHA v. Reifel Industries, Inc.
- Secretary of Labor, OSHA v. Dlubak Glass
- McKenzie v. Meijer, Inc., 2007-Ohio-4430, (5th Dist)
- Breier v. ITT Automotive, Inc., 98 Fed. Appx. 458 (6th Cir.2004)
- Wrenn v. Gould, 808F.2d 493 (6th Cir.1987)
- McCauley v. SK Hand Tool Corp., 2010 WL 2817263, (N.D.Ohio 2010)
- Mong v. Gardenscape Transport, Inc., 1999 WL 1489896, (N.D.Ohio)
- National Labor Relations Board v. Schuetz Container Systems, Inc.
- National Labor Relations Board v. Schuetz Container Systems, Inc.
- National Labor Relations Board v. Bittersweet, Inc.
- Thompson v. Continental General Tire, Inc., 1998 WL 160044 (6th Dist.)
- O’Brien v. Port Lawrence Title & Trust Co., 1997 WL 725781, (Ohio Com.Pl.)
- Hammill Mfg. Co. v. Quality Rubber Prod., Inc., 82 Ohio App.3d 369 (6th Dist.)
- Bockrath v. General Motors Delphi Corp., 2008 WL 440456, (N.D.Ohio)
Professional Memberships:
- American Bar Association (Labor Law Section);
- Ohio State Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section);
- Toledo Bar Association
- Findlay Area Human Resources Association
- Employer’s Association
