Lawyers / Professionals

Mr. Rust graduated from the College of William and Mary and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review. Upon graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Robert Beezer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Seattle, Washington. After completing his judicial clerkship, he joined McGuireWoods, where he has concentrated in the areas of labor and employment law since 1987. As described below, he has experience in virtually every practice area in the labor and employment field.

Employment Litigation

Mr. Rust is an experienced litigator in the employment discrimination area, having handled hundreds of discrimination cases and charges of discrimination in state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout the country. He has tried to verdict age discrimination, sex discrimination, race discrimination, Equal Pay Act, Family Medical Leave Act, workplace defamation and disability discrimination cases. He has litigated Title VII class actions in federal court, and represented an employer defending a class action gender discrimination case before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Traditional Labor

Mr. Rust has significant experience representing unionized employers. This experience includes negotiating collective bargaining agreements, defending unfair labor practice charges and defending both discharge and contract interpretation arbitrations. He has also defended Section 301 LMRA litigation in which unionized employees sue both their employers and their unions.

ERISA

Mr. Rust defends employers in both pension and welfare benefit litigation. Representative cases include class action pension benefit litigation and single plaintiff claims for severance pay, disability and health benefits.

Noncompete/Trade Secret Litigation

Mr. Rust represents employers as both plaintiffs and defendants in claims involving breach of noncompete agreements, theft of trade secrets and employee raiding. He is experienced in the use of forensic computer evidence to prove the improper taking and use of electronic information.

OSHA/MSHA

Mr. Rust has represented employers before the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration and state OSHA agencies. He has tried cases before OSHA and MSHA administrative law judges. His expertise includes manufacturing and construction companies and he has represented employers in several cases involving workplace fatalities. He tried the first OSHA whistleblower case brought by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

Counseling

Mr. Rust regularly counsels employers in all aspects of the employment relationship including layoffs, plant closings, the discipline and termination of union and nonunion employees, compliance with Title VII, the ADA, the FMLA, the WARN Act and the handling of OSHA and MSHA inspections. He also regularly assists employers in the drafting of policies and procedures, noncompete, employment and separation agreements.