Larry Rector has focused his more than 20 years of practice in the area of labor and employment law. In addition to client counseling, Mr. Rector has an active trial and appellate practice.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
- Federal court trial for a construction company disputing the validity of a collective bargaining agreement with a local trade union and asserting fraud by the union
- Defended an industrial cleaning enterprise in a class action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Defense of multiple fatality/personal injury claims that arose from a mine shaft explosion
AREAS OF CONCENTRATION
• Employment Discrimination & Wrongful Discharge
Mr. Rector has defended employment discrimination claims of all colors, shapes, and sizes in the state and federal courts in West Virginia as well as administrative claims before the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and the EEOC. In addition, he has investigated and defended numerous workplace harassment claims as well as claims involving breach of contract, retaliatory discharge, defamation, invasion of privacy, tort of outrage, and the various other employment related torts.
• Wage & Hour
Mr. Rector has represented clients in wage and hour audits and has tried claims to a jury involving employee classification, minimum wage, and overtime pay issues. These cases have included national class actions and collective actions under the FLSA.
• Industrial Injuries
Mr. Rector has defended numerous personal injury and wrongful death cases involving workplace accidents, including, among others, the following industries: underground coal mining, oil and gas production and transmission, forest products, construction, transportation, electrical power generation, retail establishments, mental health care, and petroleum product refinement.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1993 Steptoe & Johnson
1989-1993 Arnold & Porter
1987-1989 Judicial Clerkship, Judge Floyd R. Gibson,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- West Virginia Member, National Employers Counsel Network
- Editor, West Virginia Employment Law Letter
- Charter Member, Wage & Hour Defense Institute
INDUSTRY/ CIVIC MEMBERSHIPS
- Board of Directors, Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation
- Allohak Council, Boy Scouts of America
- Harrison County Chamber of Commerce
AWARDS / HONORS
- The Best Lawyers in America®
- Super Lawyers®
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Order of the Coif
- Executive Editor, Nebraska Law Review
- National Moot Court Team
- 2009 Leadership West Virginia
- 2002 Leadership Harrison
PUBLICATIONS / SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- “The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A Parent Corporation's Duty to Disclose Safety and Environmental Issues Related to Its Subsidiaries, and How the Internal Controls Necessary to Carry Out That Duty May Expose a Parent Corporation to Liability for the Torts of Its Subsidiaries,” The Energy & Mineral Law Foundation, January 2007
- Mr. Rector co-authors a point/counterpoint employment law column for The West Virginia Lawyer
- He has regularly addressed professional organizations and clients in the areas of labor and employment law and has been a frequent lecturer at the West Virginia University College of Law.
BIGGEST REGRET: Not attaining the rank of Eagle Scout