Manna-Williams, Melissa A.

Amy was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She lived with her grandparents in Kansas City, Kansas for a portion of her high school years and later decided to make Kansas City her permanent home.

Prior to representing employees exclusively, she worked in the employment litigation and policy group for one of the largest defense firms in Kansas City where she represented both corporate and government employers. Amy has experience in employment litigation and disputes with both public and private employers, including wage and hour law (FLSA), sex discrimination, sexual harassment, race discrimination, age discrimination, disability discrimination, and whistleblower/retaliation issues, as well as with disputes arising out of executive contracts. She has played a central role in guiding clients through internal investigations and the administrative charge process of the EEOC and other agencies, and contributed to the favorable resolution of numerous employment disputes.

While in law school, Amy worked as Assistant to Mayor Emanuel Cleaver for Constituent Affairs. After graduating, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., United States District Court - Western District of Missouri. Amy is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics concerning litigation and employment law issues. She is the Editor in Chief of The Fair Labor Standards Act, 2008 and 2009 Cumulative Supplements, ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law (BNA Books), and the Kansas Chapter in Wage and Hour Laws, A State-by-State Survey (BNA Books).  She is also on the Subcommittee on Model Civil Jury Instructions for the Eighth Circuit.