“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens.” – Wade Boggs
Kevin J. Dolley is a Senior Attorney in the Class Action Group at Franklin D. Azar & Associates, P.C. He received his undergraduate degree from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts (1999) and his law degree from St. Louis University School of Law (2002).
Mr. Dolley has over 20 years of practice experience in labor and employment law, wage and hour, class and collective actions, and complex commercial litigation. At the beginning of his career, he represented labor organizations, practicing traditional labor law, including hands-on work in developing collective bargaining agreements and providing legal counsel to labor organizations and their members.
Mr. Dolley capably handles large-scale and high-stakes litigation, including class actions often involving thousands of class members, in both state and federal courts throughout the United States. In addition to his class action work, Mr. Dolley’s litigation experience includes personal injury and wrongful death cases, as well as employment-related cases touching upon nearly every conceivable aspect of the employment relationship.
Early in his career, Mr. Dolley secured several high-dollar jury verdicts in premises liability cases, including a five-million-dollar jury verdict won on behalf of a first responder exposed on private property to anhydrous ammonia, a chemical commonly used improperly in the early 2000s for illegal, clandestine production of methamphetamine.
Before the Supreme Court of Missouri, Mr. Dolley successfully argued on behalf of a terminated employee claiming age discrimination. Because of Mr. Dolley’s efforts, the Court implemented a “contributing factor” standard for employees seeking to demonstrate illegal discrimination. This proposed standard was adopted by the Missouri Supreme Court and ultimately led to action by the state legislature years later to overturn the law because of the resulting success of affected employees.
Drawing from his collective bargaining knowledge, Mr. Dolley developed an extensive and nuanced understanding of wage and hour law. Mr. Dolley has taken on numerous large hospitals and healthcare networks in challenging their wage and hour practices on behalf of healthcare workers, including claims for improper rounding of work time and failure to provide meal breaks. Mr. Dolley’s efforts resulted in securing numerous multi-million-dollar results on behalf of these employees.
Mr. Dolley is licensed to practice in Missouri, along with numerous federal district courts and courts of appeal throughout the United States. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife and three children, who are very involved in youth sports. The family enjoys time outdoors and traveling together.
