Overview Experience Thought Leadership Outside the Office Community Leadership

Mary Elizabeth "Molly" Kurt

Senior Counsel

Kansas City
office: 816.983.8229
fax: 816.983.8080

Overview Experience Thought Leadership Outside the Office Community Leadership

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“We should have called Molly sooner. Molly is a great resource. She is both knowledgeable and gracious as she provides expert counsel. Both are equally appreciated!”

Scott Jones, Director, Office of Institutional Equity, Kansas State University

Overview

For Molly, the practice of law is about people. She takes great satisfaction in seeing clients remain in compliance, avoid risks, and strengthen their recruitment and employment practices.

Many of Molly’s clients are federal government contractors and employers, and she stays abreast of ever-changing federal regulations so she can explain changes and help clients stay on the right side of the EEO and affirmative action laws. She has a deep understanding of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, as well as related equal employment opportunity laws. Molly also offers great insight into federal regulations protecting veterans and individuals with disabilities.

In addition, she advises on recruiting best practices, applicant tracking and affirmative action plans that comply with various federal contractor requirements. Molly helps clients to understand pay equity laws and commissions privileged pay equity studies. She counsels clients about the impact of reductions in force and guides them through the process of filing annual EEO-1 and VETS 4212 reports.

Molly begins a client relationship by laying a strong foundation of trust, then cementing the bond with education and insightful legal guidance. She offers a sense of calm in the face of stressful government audits and seemingly burdensome recordkeeping obligations.

“We should have called Molly sooner. Molly is a great resource. She is both knowledgeable and gracious as she provides expert counsel. Both are equally appreciated!”

Scott Jones, Director, Office of Institutional Equity, Kansas State University

Industries

Education

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Services

Banking & Finance

Government Contracts

Healthcare Labor & Employment and Immigration

Healthcare Operations

Healthcare Providers

Higher Education

Labor & Employment

Labor & Management Relations

Education

J.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, Articles Editor
B.A., University of Michigan
- with honors

Admissions

Missouri
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
Kansas
U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

American Health Lawyer's Association

Featured Case Study

OFCCP Closes Employer Audit Over Lack of Jurisdiction

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) sought to audit a large Midwest employer, claiming the agency had jurisdiction because the employer voluntarily submitted information to a federal government consumer safety database. An audit would have entailed countless hours of compliance activities, including data collection, statistical analyses and potentially significant penalties. Molly helped the employer understand that its limited interaction with the federal government did not constitute a covered federal contract and OFCCP had no jurisdiction to conduct the audit. After several months of legal arguments to the OFCCP, the agency ultimately agreed and closed the audit. The employer continues to participate in the safety reporting program, undeterred by the threat of future audits.

Thought Leadership

Alert

White House Halts New Requirement on Collecting Pay Data in EEO-1

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Outside the Office

Outside the office, Molly and her husband John often feel like the family Uber drivers, shuttling their four active children to baseball games, basketball practices and cross country meets. From time to time, she spearheads various volunteer events at each of her children’s schools.

Community Leadership

Molly serves on the board for the crisis pregnancy center Aid for Women, helping young women with healthcare, housing, parenting, education and employment.

The center also assists women who may have been victims of human trafficking. Offering these tools free of charge to some of society’s most vulnerable, and seeing clients learn to thrive following tremendous challenges, is truly rewarding.