Overview

For more than 30 years, Dan Boatright has represented employers in hundreds of matters in state and federal courts, primarily in Missouri and Kansas, and before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor. Working with restaurants, retailers, and public sector employers, he has experience with claims across the full spectrum of employment law, including claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and defense of numerous multiple plaintiff and collective/class action lawsuits.

Dan co-chair’s Littler’s Hospitality Practice Group, and regularly advises employers on tip credit and tip pooling issues.

Drawing on his experience as a practicing architect prior to law school, Dan routinely advises and litigates issues related to accessibility of places of business under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Dan previously served on the firm’s Board of Directors.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee

American Bar Association

Co-Chair

Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions for the 8th Circuit

Member

The Jefferson Society, Inc.

Recognition

Named, Lawyer of the Year

Labor Law - Management, Kansas City

The Best Lawyers in America©

2019, 2022

Named, The Best Lawyers in America®

2013-2024

Ranked, Labor & Employment

Chambers USA

2012-2023

Named, Top 10 Most Influential Labor & Employment Lawyers in Kansas City

Business Today

2023

Named, Super Lawyer

Kansas and Missouri

Super Lawyers

News, Analysis & Press

Can You Get Sued for Not Paying Four Days of $10 Minimum Wage in KC?

Kansas City Business Journal

August 30, 2017

New OT/pay rules: Flip-flop is 'creating a mess'

Kansas City Business Journal

November 23, 2016

Brace for Impact, Employers: OT Rules May Change

Kansas City Business Journal

January 22, 2016

Newsmaker: Littler Mendelson’s Boatright Builds Firm’s Profile

Kansas City Business Journal

December 4, 2015

Wage and Hour Laws - A State-by-State Survey

2007-2009 Cumulative Supplement

BNA Books

2007

Dangers May Be Lurking in Standard Severance Agreements

Benefits & Compensation Digest, Vol. 43, No. 7

July 2006

Loan Officer Lawsuits for Overtime Pay

Missouri Independent Bankers Association Newsletter

January 2004

Supreme Court Holds 'No Harm, No Foul' in its First FMLA Case

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Newsletter

American Bar Association (ABA)

Fall 2002

Employers Beware: Three New Pitfalls in the Digital Workplace

Employment Relations Today, Vol. 28, No. 2

Summer 2001

The Offer of Judgment Revisited

The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association

April 1997

Speaking Engagements

2023 Kansas City Regional Employer Conference

Kansas City, MO

October 10, 2023

2022 Kansas City Regional Employer Conference

Kansas City, MO

July 28, 2022

Hospitality Industry Roundtable

Littler Executive Employer Conference

May 4, 2022

The Next Normal: Strategies and Best Practices for Returning to Work in Kansas and Missouri

May 27, 2020

Return to Work in Missouri – What Employers Need to Know to Manage the Next Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

May 12, 2020

Pay Equity: Past, Present and Future

Kansas City Employer Conference

June 26, 2018

Today Jeopardy, Tomorrow the Law: Exploring Artificial Intelligence and What It Means for Lawyers, Clients and a Changing Profession

Missouri Bar/Missouri Judicial Conference Annual Meeting, Kansas City MO

September 2017

Mediating and Resolving Class and Collective Claims

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting, American Bar Association, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

March 2017

Key Developments Affecting Your Business in 2016 and Beyond

Association of Corporate Counsel, Mid-America Kansas City, MO

August 2016

FLSA Seminar

Ajilon Professional Staffing, Overland Park, KS

July 19, 2016

Working on Overtime: Preparing for DOL’s Changes to the FLSA Overtime Regulations

Kansas City, MO

June 2016

Employment Law Update

Overland Park, KS

May 22, 2014

Recent Missouri Supreme Court Case Resurrects Untimely Discrimination Claims Unless Employers Jump Through Procedural Hoops Before A Lawsuit is Filed

October 3, 2013

What Do They Know, Anyway? Judicial Deference to Administrative Agency Briefs, Interpretations and Opinions

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting – American Bar Association, Miami Beach, FL

March 2013

The Employee From Hell

Kansas City, MO

October 9, 2012

The Recent Supreme Court Class Action Decision: We Know What It Says, But What Does It Mean?

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting – American Bar Association, Las Vegas, NV

March 2012

2011 Regulatory and Legislative Outlook

Society for Human Resource Management, Missouri Chapter

March 2011

Settle This!

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting – American Bar Association, Coronado, CA

March 2010

The Federal Tip Credit Under Fire: How Do You Properly Pay Tipped Employees?

2010 Hospitality Law Conference, Houston, TX

February 2010

EEO Claims by Contractors and Foreign Workers

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Key West, FL

March 2009

Grabbing a Jury and Keeping 'Em

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Dana Point, CA

April 2008

Privacy Practices: What Does My Knee Surgery Have To Do With My Lawsuit?

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Dana Point, CA

April 2008

Missouri Wage & Hour Update

6th Annual Labor & Employment Symposium - Missouri Bar, Columbia, MO

October 2007

Hot Topics in Hiring & Firing

City Attorneys Association of Kansas, Overland Park, KS

October 2007

Are Your Interview Techniques Impartial or Biased?

April 2006

You Can Use ADR for That?

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Puerto Vallarta, MX

March 2006

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Role of Courts in Private ADR Agreements

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Key Biscane, FL

March 2005

The New White Collar Exemption Regulations: Yes They're New, But Are They Improved?

County Counselors Association of Kansas, Overland Park, KS

November 2004

The Promises and Pitfalls of Employment Practices Liability Insurance

November 2004

Can We Talk? Alternatives to Litigation: The Art of Negotiation

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, Palm Springs, CA

March 2004

Department of Labor Proposed Regulations: FLSA Update

County Counselors Association of Kansas, Overland Park, KS

November 2003

Managing Today's Architectural Workforce: What Every Principal Needs to Know About HR

American Institute of Architects, KC Chapter, Kansas City, MO

July 2003

Proposed Changes to FLSA 'White Collar' Exemptions

Human Resource Management Association of Greater Kansas City, Lenexa, KS

April 2003

Is Anyone Litigating Anymore?

Employment Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meeting - American Bar Association, San Juan, PR

March 2003

State and Federal Time Off Issues

Lorman Education Services, Overland Park, KS

November 2002

Cutting-Edge Human Resources Issues - WARN Act

University of Missouri-Kansas City CLE, Kansas City, MO

May 2002

Time Off in Kansas: Federal and State Disability Laws

Lorman Education Services, Overland Park, KS

July 2001

Employment Laws You Need to Know About

Wyandotte County Bar Association, Kansas City, KS

June 2001

Selecting and Terminating Employees in Kansas

National Business Institute, Overland Park, KS

April 2001

The Arbitration Alternative

April 2001

Arbitration and Mediation of Employment Cases

Annual Employment Law Institute - Kansas Bar Association, Wichita, KS

September 1997

Workplace Defamation

Media and the Law Seminar - University of Missouri-Kansas City CLE, Kansas City, MO

April 1997

Protecting Your Practice Against Malpractice Claims, Discipline and Litigation

Kansas Bar Association, Overland Park, KS

June 1996

Heartland Workshop, Civil Rights - How It Affects the Workplace

University of Missouri-Kansas City CLE, Kansas City, MO

May 1996

OSHA Compliance Update - Procedural Defenses

National Business Institute, Kansas City, MO

February 1996

Labor and Employment Law Update: Attendance Records

University of Missouri-Kansas City CLE, Kansas City, MO

June 1995

Update on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Kansas Hospital Association, Overland Park, KS

April 1995

A Primer on Recently Enacted and Proposed Legislation Affecting the Operation of a Business

Corporation Law Institute - Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Overland Park, KS

March 1995

Violence in the Workplace

ADP, Kansas City, MO

February 1995

Strategies for Commercial Property Owners in Missouri: Complying With the Americans with Disabilities Act

National Business Institute, Kansas City, MO

July 1993

Education

  • J.D., University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1991With Distinction
  • B.A., Kansas State University, 1986cum laude

Bar Admission

Missouri
Kansas

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan