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Samantha J. Monsees

Partner


Kansas City

t:816.842.8770

f:816.842.8767

Email

Service Focus

  • Counseling and Advice
  • Wage and Hour
  • Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management
  • Employment Discrimination and Harassment

Industry Focus

  • Automotive Dealership
  • Hospitality
  • Manufacturing

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  • COVID-19/Vaccine Resource Center
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Overview
Recent Experience
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Credentials
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Affiliations

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), Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), Occupational Safety and Review Commission (OSHRC), and the Administrative Review Board (ARB). 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, 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.

Recent Experience

Experience

  • Obtained dismissal of entire class alleging employer unpaid overtime under the FLSA and Missouri Minimum Wage Law.
  • Regularly negotiates removal and reclassification of OSHA citations and penalties. Achieved complete vacation of all proposed citations and penalties for construction client in two separate inspections.
  • Obtained dismissal of workers’ compensation retaliation claim in Jackson County Circuit Court.
  • A member of the Firm’s COVID-19 and SBA Loan Task Forces, Samantha counsels employers through all aspects of federal, state, and local legislation passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension Act.
  • Successfully argued before the Missouri Court of Appeals resulting in reversal of the circuit court’s denial of employer’s motion to compel arbitration.
  • Defended FLSA collective action regarding the alleged miscalculation of the regular rate in which half of the opt-in plaintiffs were dismissed from the case, and the claims of the remaining opt-ins were disposed of favorably by offers of judgment.
  • Obtained early resolution and dismissal of state wage and hour and FLSA claims of all named plaintiffs prior to certification based on presentation of facts and argument, saving client significant legal fees.
  • Obtained dismissal of untimely claims for nearly half of all opt-in plaintiffs at the outset of FLSA miscalculation collective action.

 

Insights

  • Event

    10/20/23

    2023 Midwest Labor and Employment Seminar

    James R. Holland II, Melody L. Rayl, Samantha J. Monsees, Lauren M. Sobaski, Laura Bailey Brown

    Read more 

  • News

    05/29/23

    Republished Insight: Top 10 Ways To Protect Attorney-Client Communications After Supreme Court Punts Case

    Wendy Hughes, Samantha J. Monsees, Jeffrey Shapiro, Jeremy F. Wood

    Read more 

  • Podcasts

    03/29/23

    Manufacturing Success, Episode #6: QC-ing Your Time and Pay Practices

    Michael D. Carrouth, J. Hagood Tighe, Courtney Leyes, Samantha J. Monsees

    Read more 

  • Podcasts

    02/22/23

    Podcast - QC-ing Your Time and Pay Practices: A Webinar for Employers in the Manufacturing Industry

    J. Hagood Tighe, Courtney Leyes, Samantha J. Monsees

    Read more 

  • Event

    02/08/23

    Wage and Hour Wednesday – QC-ing Your Time and Pay Practices: A Webinar for Employers in the Manufacturing Industry

    Courtney Leyes, Samantha J. Monsees

    Read more 

  • Insights

    02/03/23

    Top Workplace Law Stories You May Have Missed from January 2023

    William E. Altman, Emily Alvarez, Alba V. Aviles, Davis C. Bae, Phillip C. Bauknight, Amanda M. Blair, Risa B. Boerner, Michael E. Bonner, Melissa (Osipoff) Camire, Christopher Caravello, Deepa K. Desai , J. Micah Dickie, Benjamin M. Ebbink, Stephen R. Gee, Michael R. Greco, Darcey M. Groden, Rosemary S. Gousman, David H. Han, Andrew J. Hoag, Wendy Hughes, Usama Kahf, Seth D. Kaufman, Kenneth A. Knox, Samantha J. Monsees, Danielle Hultenius Moore, Joshua D. Nadreau, Marilynn Schuyler, Jeffrey Shapiro, Henry Thomson-Smith, Sheila M. Willis, Jeremy F. Wood

    Read more 

  • Insights

    02/01/23

    FP SCOTUS Recap: Top 10 Ways You Can Protect Attorney-Client Communications After Supreme Court Punts Case

    Wendy Hughes, Samantha J. Monsees, Jeffrey Shapiro, Jeremy F. Wood

    Read more 

  • Insights

    01/11/23

    FP SCOTUS Predictions: Will the Supreme Court Shred Attorney-Client Privilege Claims – Including for Inside Counsel?

    Wendy Hughes, Samantha J. Monsees, Jeffrey Shapiro, Jeremy F. Wood

    Read more 

  • News

    12/14/22

    Fisher Phillips Elects 22 New Partners Amid Growth for Labor and Employment Counsel

    Arit Dilip Butani, Jeffrey M. Csercsevits, Chantell C. Foley, Jamie Gross, Linda J. Gulledge, Rebecca Hause-Schultz, R. Bryan Holbrook, Megan L. Janes, Garrett S. Kamen, Matthew J. Macario, Bret Martin, Radhika Mehta, Samantha J. Monsees, Brett P. Owens, Lisa Peterson, Deniz Uzel Reilly, Ashton M. Riley, Kristin L. Smith, Monica Snyder Perl, Lauren M. Sobaski, Franklin Z. Wolf, Victor Xu

    Read more 

  • Event

    10/28/22

    2022 Midwest Labor & Employment Seminar

    James R. Holland II, Melody L. Rayl, Laura Bailey Brown, Samantha J. Monsees, Lauren M. Sobaski

    Read more 

View All 

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 2012, University of Kansas School of Law
  • B.S., and B.A. 2005, University of Kansas

Bar Admissions

  • Kansas
  • Missouri
  • Iowa

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

Recognitions

  • Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2018- present)

Affiliations

Professional Activities

  • Member, Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City
  • Member, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

Community Activities

  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training: Alumni and Mentor
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year

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