Suing for Wrongful Dismissal Based on Employee Handbooks and Implied Contracts in Kansas

When you start a new job in Kansas, you are almost always handed a thick employee handbook. Most employees toss it in a desk drawer and forget about it. However, that handbook is a powerful legal document. While Kansas is an "at-will" state-meaning you can generally be fired for any non-illegal reason-the courts have consistently ruled that an employer's written manuals, policies, and standard practices can accidentally create an "implied contract" of employment. If your employer breaches that implied contract by firing you abruptly, you have the right to hold them accountable in civil court.

How Kansas Courts Interpret Employee Handbooks

In Kansas, the turning point for implied contracts was the landmark ruling in Morriss v. Coleman Co., 241 Kan. 501 (KS Supreme Court 1987). The court ruled that even if a handbook contains a boilerplate "at-will" disclaimer on the first page, the actual text of the handbook and the company's behavior can override that disclaimer. If the handbook reads like a contract, a judge may treat it like one. The court will examine the "totality of the circumstances" to determine if you and your employer had a mutual understanding that you would only be fired for a "good cause."

Key Breaches of Implied Contracts

Bypassing Progressive Discipline Policies

This is the most common foundation for a handbook lawsuit. Many employee manuals in Kansas outline a strict "progressive discipline" policy: first a verbal warning, then a written write-up, then a suspension, and finally termination. If your employer skips these mandatory steps and fires you on the spot for a minor offense, they have violated their own policies. By publishing a progressive discipline policy, the employer implies that you will not be fired without going through those steps first.

Verbal Promises of Long-Term Employment

Implied contracts are not just written; they can be spoken. If your manager or the company owner makes explicit verbal promises-such as, "As long as you hit your sales quota every month, you have a job here for life," or "We never fire anyone without giving them a 30-day warning to improve"-those statements carry legal weight. In Kansas, continuous verbal reassurances of job security can transform an at-will employee into a contract employee.

Custom and Practice Exceptions

Sometimes, an implied contract is formed simply by how a company operates over time. If a manufacturing plant in Lawrence has a decades-long history of only firing employees for severe safety violations or theft, and everyone in the building understands this as the unwritten rule, a judge may rule that this established custom created an implied contract requiring "just cause" for termination.

Step-by-Step Process to Pursue a Claim

Proving an implied contract requires meticulous evidence gathering. Follow these steps if you believe your employer violated their own rules.

• Step 1: Save the Handbook Immediately. Get a physical or digital copy of the exact employee handbook, memos, or policy guides that were active on the day you were fired. Companies often try to rewrite handbooks after a lawsuit is filed.
• Step 2: Request Your Personnel File. Under Kansas practice, you should request your complete personnel file to prove you had no prior write-ups and that the company skipped their disciplinary steps.
• Step 3: Attempt a Negotiated Severance. Often, pointing out the handbook violation to the HR department via a formal demand letter from an attorney can trigger a fast severance settlement without going to court.
• Step 4: File a Breach of Contract Lawsuit. If they refuse to settle, you will file a civil lawsuit in a venue like the Douglas County District Court, Lawrence or the Johnson County District Court, Olathe. Your attorney will file a Form Civil Cover Sheet, Kansas, Kansas Judicial Council, Civil Cover Sheet pursuant to Kan. Sup. Ct. R. 123 alongside a Petition for Breach of Implied Contract. Use our US Attorney Directory to find a skilled lawyer to assist you.

How Much Does it Cost?

In Kansas, standard civil court filing fees run about $195. Because breach of implied contract cases do not always guarantee attorney fees to the winner (unlike civil rights cases), some lawyers may require a hybrid fee-a smaller hourly rate plus a contingency percentage of your settlement (often 25% to 33%). Depending on how aggressively the corporate attorneys defend the handbook, the case could take 12 to 18 months to reach a jury trial.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)