Kansas Discrimination
KANSAS APPEALS AND SUPREME COURT OPINION DATABASE
Please Note: ALTHOUGH THE FOLLOWING KANSAS SUPREME AND APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS ARE RECENT HOLDINGS, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONTROLLING LAW. THEY ARE LISTED HERE MERELY TO GIVE THE READER AN IDEA OF HOW KANSAS COURTS HAVE RULED IN PAST DECISIONS. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT THAT ONE NOT BASE FUTURE ACTION ON THE HOLDINGS IN THESE OPINIONS WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING AN ATTORNEY DULY LICENSED IN YOUR JURISDICTION.
STATE V. CITY OF TOPEKA, KANSAS, NO. 80,606 (1998)
State agencies can be held liable under municipal anti-discrimination ordinances.
GARVEY ELEVATORS, INC. v. KANSAS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, NO. 76,394 (1998)
As stated in case syllabus paragraph number one, "an appeal from an order of the Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is subject to de novo review by the district court on the KHRC's record." Hence, when a decision is appealed to the district court, that court has the discretion to disregard the commission's legal rulings and begin anew.
RICHARD J. SCHALL v. WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY, NO. 83,264 (2000)
This case contains extensive analysis on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) including its applicability to state agencies. The entire syllabus is a terrific primer on the ADA (all 13 paragraphs!).
RIDDLE v. WAL-MART STORES, INC., NO. 82,293 (2000)
"The two exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine that Kansas courts have recognized are (1) when an employer discharges an employee for exercising rights under the workers compensation laws and (2) when an employer discharges an employee for a good faith report or threat to report a serious infraction of rules, regulations, or law pertaining to the public health, safety, and the general welfare by a co-worker or employer (whistleblowing)."
GRIFFIN v. DODGE CITY COOPERATIVE EXCHANGE, 23 KAN. APP.2D 139 (1996)
An injured employee who pursues a claim of failure to accommodate must first exhaust all available administrative remedies under the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (KAAD) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) before either federal or state courts have jurisdiction to hear the claim.
HUGHS v. VALLEY STATE BANK, NO. 80,840 (1999)
"The filing of an employment discrimination charge with the office of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does not, of itself, result in the filing of the same charge with the Kansas Human Rights Commission, but the charge must also be filed with the Kansas Human Rights Commission to institute an action before that commission."