Employment Law Attorney in Wichita, Kansas

Wage & Hour Law 

We represent individuals who have not been paid minimum wages or overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that covered employers pay a set minimum wage and provide overtime pay for non-exempt employees working beyond 40 hours in a workweek. Our attorneys, recognized by The Wichita Eagle, have extensive experience in wage and hour cases and know how to position your case for a favorable outcome. 

FLSA litigation is highly specialized, involving exceptions and loopholes that our litigators expertly navigate. The FLSA also allows for collective actions by multiple plaintiffs. Our lawyers have successfully prosecuted such actions and have been appointed as class counsel in several cases. 

Our expertise spans various industries and occupations, including: 

• Cable installers 

• Waitstaff 

• Fast food employees 

• Mortgage brokers 

• Home health aides 

• Managers 

• Hotel employees 

• Pharmacists 

• Drivers 

Whistleblower Retaliation 

We represent employees terminated for reporting legal violations. Whistleblower retaliation claims balance market competition with regulatory compliance. Employees protected from retaliation include those reporting workplace safety, public safety, and financial security violations. 

We handle cases under various whistleblower laws, including Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, AIR 21, and STAA. These cases often start with OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program and proceed to Administrative Law Judge cases or federal court actions. 

• Aviation Safety (AIR 21): Protects aviation employees from retaliation for enforcing safety regulations. Our location in Wichita, the “Air Capital of the World,” provides us with unique access to industry expertise. For example, in 2016, we secured $180,000 plus attorney fees in a complex AIR 21 case. 

• Railroad Safety: Protects rail industry workers. 

• Trucking Safety: Protects trucking industry employees. 

• Workers Compensation Retaliation: Kansas law protects employees from retaliation for filing workers compensation claims. 

• Reporting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: We handle claims under laws such as the National Defense Authorization Act.   

In 2020, the United States Department of Justice Office of Inspector General issued a procedural reform recommendation based upon our client's case against a halfway house operator based in Newton, Kansas. As we have previously blogged about, DOJ OIG determined that the contractor retaliated against our client for blowing the whistle on potential violations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The procedural reform recommendation ensures that employees of federal contractors are aware of their right to report violations to the United States, without fear of reprisal. 

ADA & FMLA 

We represent individuals terminated due to disability or for requesting protected medical leave. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees with actual or perceived disabilities and mandates reasonable accommodations. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires certain employers to provide leave for serious health conditions and certain military deployments. Both laws prohibit retaliation against employees exercising these rights. Our attorneys have extensive experience litigating FMLA and ADA cases in federal court. 

Restrictive Contracts / Non-Competes 

We handle litigation over non-compete agreements and other business disputes. Our attorneys represent clients, often former employees sued by companies over non-compete agreements. Using creative techniques, we help individuals achieve favorable outcomes in these disputes.  In many situations, we have obtained settlements in which our clients received compensation after being sued on non-competitive or restrictive covenants.  

Long-Term Disability / ERISA Litigation 

We represent individuals wrongfully denied life, health, and disability insurance benefits. Graybill & Hazlewood, LLC specializes in employee benefit matters, including Long Term Disability insurance claims, appeals, and litigation. We also handle disputes involving pension plans, health insurance, life insurance, and COBRA, which are typically obtained through employment. 

Our experience includes dealing with large insurance companies like Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, Guardian, Hartford, Lincoln, Mutual of Omaha, Metlife, Prudential, Reliance Standard, and Unum. ERISA, a federal law, often governs these claims, involving short deadlines and unique legal protections. 

A typical ERISA lawsuit involves a plan participant suing the benefit plan, the relevant insurance company, and sometimes other entities. ERISA allows participants to recover benefits due, enforce rights, or clarify rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan. Courts can also enjoin plan administrators from violating their statutory obligations and award civil penalties and attorney fees. 

In Meyer v. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, we represented John Meyer, who was disabled by a stroke. UNUM denied Meyer’s claim based on a preexisting condition exclusion. We argued that UNUM’s decision was influenced by a financial conflict of interest, and the court agreed, awarding benefits and attorney fees. By working that case, we discovered that UNUM had tried to erase a different court opinion from the books that revealed UNUM had engaged in similar misconduct in the past.   

In another case, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that our client was wrongfully denied benefits from another large carrier.  Proof of insurance company bias, such as Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada incentivizing employees to deny claims through a lottery system, underscores the need for skilled legal representation in ERISA litigation.