Kansas Wrongful Termination Laws

Have you recently lost your job? If so, you might be wondering whether you have grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit against your former employer. In Kansas, as in other states, employees work at will. This means an employee can generally be fired at any time and for any reason, or for no reason at all.

But there are some exceptions to the at-will rule. If your Kansas employer fires you for discriminatory reasons, in violation of an employment contract, or in retaliation for exercising your rights, for example, you may have a legal claim against your employer for wrongful termination.

What If You Were Illegally Fired During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

While most job losses during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted from layoffs, some workers have been fired for reasons related to the novel coronavirus. If this happened to you, you might have a valid claim for wrongful termination, depending on the reason you were let go. For example, it would generally be illegal for your employer to fire you:

• in retaliation after you complained about or reported unsafe working conditions, such as inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing, or cleaning
• for refusing to work because you had a reasonable belief that you faced an immediate risk of death or serious physical harm due to unsafe working conditions
• for refusing to violate a legal shelter-in-place order
• for taking family or medical leave under state or federal law, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (discussed below)
• because you have a preexisting condition (including your age) that makes you more vulnerable to the coronavirus; or
• because you filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits for COVID-19.

(Learn more about wrongful termination in the context of COVID-19.)

Every state's laws on wrongful termination are different. This article covers some of the common legal grounds you might have for suing your employer in Kansas for wrongful termination. But it's not a comprehensive list of Kansas employment rights, which can change as courts issue new rulings and legislators pass or modify laws. To find out the full extent of your legal claims, speak to an experienced Kansas employment lawyer.

Discriminatory Firing

Under federal law, it is illegal for an employer to fire an employee based on a protected characteristic. Federal law prohibits employers from firing employees based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, age (if the employee is at least 40), disability, citizenship status, or genetic information. However, only employers with a minimum number of employees must comply with these laws. Most types of discrimination are prohibited once an employer has at least 15 employees; the minimum is 20 employees for age discrimination and four employees for discrimination based on citizenship status.

Kansas law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, religion, age (at least 40 years old), disability, HIV/AIDS, genetic information, or military status or service. Kansas employers with at least four employees must comply with these laws.

These laws also make it illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for asserting your rights. For example, if you complain to your company's HR department that you believe you were passed over for promotion because of your age, your employer may not discipline or fire you for your complaint. Likewise, your employer cannot fire you for participating in an investigation of a discrimination complaint (no matter who made the complaint), testifying in court, or making other efforts to stop discriminatory practices.

Before filing a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit, you must file a complaint with the appropriate government agency. In Kansas, the Kansas Human Rights Commission enforces the state's laws prohibiting discrimination. In many cases, state fair employment practices agencies will record your complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces federal antidiscrimination laws. However, you should check to make sure. If not, you may also have to file a complaint with the EEOC.

Breach of Employment Contract

If you have an employment contract promising you job security, you may not be an at-will employee. In Kansas, an employment contract may be written, oral, or implied. In the first two types of contracts, your employer makes oral or written promises not to fire you for a certain period of time without good cause. In an implied contract, your employer acts in a way that creates a reasonable expectation that you would continue to be employed. For example, if your employee handbook says that employees won't be fired unless certain disciplinary steps are followed, that may create an implied contract that gives you certain rights before being terminated. If you have an employment contract, and your employer fires you without good cause, you have a legal claim for breach of contract.

Kansas Wage and Hour Issues

In Kansas, employees are entitled only to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Under federal law, employees are also entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. For employers not subject to the federal law, Kansas requires that employees be paid overtime when they work more than 46 hours in a workweek. Although some states require employers to provide meal or rest breaks, Kansas is not one of them. However, federal law requires employers to pay for breaks of 20 minutes or less. It is illegal for employers to fire employees for filing wage complaints, testifying in wage hearings, or otherwise cooperating in wage and hour actions against their employers.

Time Off Work in Kansas

State and federal laws give employees the right to take time off work for certain civic obligations and personal responsibilities. Employers may not discipline or fire workers for exercising these rights. In Kansas, these rights include:

• Military leave. Under federal law, employees have the right to take up to five years of leave to serve in the military, with the right to be reinstated when they return to work. (This law also prohibits discrimination against employees based on their military service, protects employees from discharge without good cause for up to one year after they return from military duty, and provides other protections; learn more about taking military leave.) Any employee who is called to active state duty is entitled to take unpaid leave from work and must be reinstated to the same position upon completion of service. These employees may not be fired without cause for one year. Kansas also protects employees who need time off work to attend annual muster and camp of instruction for the Kansas National Guard. These employees are entitled to take five to ten days of leave each year for this purpose.
• Voting. Employers in Kansas must provide enough paid time off to give employees a total of two consecutive hours off work (when combined with the employee's usual non-work hours) while polls are open. If an employee has two consecutive hours off while polls are open, the employer need not provide additional time.
• Jury duty. Employees are entitled to take unpaid leave for jury duty without loss of seniority or benefits. Employers who fire or penalize an employee for jury service are subject to special damages in a wrongful termination lawsuit.
• Family and medical leave. Kansas employees are protected by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks off, unpaid, every year for a serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, to care for a new child, or to handle certain practical matters arising out of a family member's military service. Employees can take up to 26 weeks off in a single year to care for a family member who is seriously injured while serving in the military. Employees who take FMLA leave must be reinstated to the same position once their leave is over.
• Domestic violence leave. An employee who is the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault may take up to eight days of unpaid leave per year to seek medical treatment, obtain counseling, secure legal services, or for other similar purposes.

Other State Employment Claims

• Workers' compensation. Employers may not fire or demote employees because they have filed workers' compensation claims or plan to file workers' compensation claims.
• Work safety. Employers are prohibited from terminating employees for filing complaints about workplace safety violations, as long as the employees were acting in good faith.
• Public policy. Employers cannot fire or otherwise retaliate against employees who report violations of laws pertaining to health, safety, and the welfare of the public.

What to Do Next

If you think you were fired illegally, talk to a Kansas employment lawyer. A lawyer can help you sort through the facts and assess the strength of your claims. A lawyer can also inform you of other state or local claims that you may have in addition to those listed above. Whether you want to try to get your job back, negotiate a severance package, or sue your employer in court, a lawyer can walk you through your options and help you decide on how best to proceed.