Overview
Samantha Monsees is a partner in the firm’s Kansas City office with an active litigation practice in state and federal courts. Samantha defends employers across multiple industries, including hospitality, manufacturing, construction and automotive dealers in claims arising from all aspects of the employment relationship. She is admitted in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. As the former Vice President of Legal and Operations at a marketing technology company, she keenly appreciates her clients’ needs and the importance of prompt, efficient legal advice in enabling them to keep their businesses running smoothly.
Samantha litigates wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Missouri Minimum Wage Law and the Kansas Wage Payment Act. She also represents management in trade secret and restrictive covenant matters, and defends harassment, discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination claims brought under state or federal law such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII and the Missouri Human Rights Act. She represents employers before state and local administrative agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR), Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Department of Labor (DOL), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), Occupational Safety and Review Commission (OSHRC), and the Administrative Review Board (ARB). Samantha has experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements in both the private and public sector. Samantha regularly provides advice and counsel to employers on day-to-day compliance issues and litigation avoidance, assists with regulatory audits and administrative complaints, facilitates internal investigations, conducts management training, and drafts employer policies and procedures that are tailored to clients’ needs.
Additionally, as a member of the Firm’s Workplace Safety Practice Group, Samantha regularly assists clients with related issues, including OSHA inspections arising from amputations and fatalities, contesting OSHA citations, and OSHRC litigation. She represents employers during OSHA inspections and investigations, defends OSH Act 11(c) whistleblower and retaliation claims, and provides OSHA compliance advice to clients.
Samantha keeps up to date on legislative and regulatory changes affecting employers, frequently authors legal alerts for the firm, and is often interviewed by local and national publications on developments in employment law.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Samantha was an active member of the firm’s COVID-19 Taskforce, COVID-19 Vaccine Subcommittee and its SBA Loan Team and advised employers on the ever-evolving local, state and federal COVID-19 legislation and guidance, including how to handle COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace, implementing vaccine and masking programs, vaccine incentive policies, and return to the office and hybrid policies, all while avoiding legal liability.