Employment Law

As a legal practitioner with over 10 years of experience in the area of Human Resources and Employment Law, Randall J. Pankratz can provide your business with affordable answers for employment and labor relations questions. You can choose from several rate packages – hourly, flat fee or monthly retainer, depending upon the needs of your business.

Randy encourages his Employment Law clients to undertake proactive measures such as conducting employee and management training and the creation of employee handbooks. He is available to your business for the writing or review of employee handbooks, training in 2ll aspects of employee and labor relations, education concerning harassment in the workplace, training in management of employees with mental or emotional problems, and staff training regarding personnel issues.

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Areas of Representation:

  • Personnel Manuals
  • E-mail Policies
  • Mental Disabilities
  • Policy Drafting
  • Employee Compliance
  • Privacy
  • Employment practices, policies and employee handbooks
  • Wage and Hour Laws
  • Non-competition Agreements
  • Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Americans with Disabilities Act
  • Assistance with sexual harassment investigations and prevention

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does my business need a personnel manual?
    • If your business has four or more employees, you should consider establishing a personnel manual. The Kansas Act AgainstDiscrimination applies to any business employing four or more, and a well composed manual can be a first line of defense in establishing that your policy is to treat your employees fairly and equally.s
  • As an employer, what does the Americans with Disabilities Act mean to me?
    • The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the fastest growing source of discrimination claims against employers. The ADA prohibits covered employers from discriminating against a “qualified individual with a disability” in any phase of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, or termination. It covers all public and private employers with 15 or more employees. The Kansas Act AgainstDiscrimination covers much of the same legal territory as the federal ADA, and applies to any employer with four or more employees.
  • As an employer, what do I need to know about sexual harassment claims?
    • There are two types of sexual harassment claims under federal law: “Quid pro quo” harassment is where, as an express or implied condition of employment, the employee is subject to requests for sexual favors or unwelcome sexual advances. The second, more common kind of sexual harassment claim is based on an allegation that an abusive or hostile working environment has been created by offensive and unwelcome actions or comments in the workplace. Contact your attorney for more information on this important topic.
  • If an employee quits her job, is she barred from getting unemployment insurance benefits?
    • The baseline rule is that an employee who voluntarily quits her job is not eligible for unemployment compensation. However, Kansas law includes a number of exceptions to this general rule, including but not limited to situations in which the employee alleges, and a fact finder agrees, that she was forced or compelled to quit in certain circumstances.
  • If an employee is fired from his job, is he automatically entitled to unemployment insurance benefits?
    • Not necessarily, even though the general rule is that employees who are involuntarily terminated are eligible. The most important exception to that rule is for employees terminated for “misconduct connected with the work.” These five words have become some of the most litigated terms in Kansas employment law, as courts and administrative tribunals have wrestled with the character and magnitude of misconduct which should and shouldn’t disqualify an employee.