David B. Walston
Partner
Phone: 205-250-6636
Fax: 205-328-7234
Email: dbwalston@csattorneys.com
Staff: Ashley N. Marsh
Staff Phone: 205-795-6549
Staff Email: anmarsh@csattorneys.com
- Alabama, 1987
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
- Poarch Band of Creek Indians Tribal Court, 2019
- Vanderbilt University, 1984, B.A.
- Vanderbilt University Law School, 1987, J.D.
David Walston is a partner in Christian & Small’s Labor and Employment practice group – practicing exclusively in this particular arena for more than 30 years. He regularly defends businesses in claims under Title VII, § 1981, § 1983, ADA, ADEA, and FMLA. With the growth of wage and hour litigation, David has spent a large part of his practice defending individual and collective actions under the FLSA. His experience further extends to advising and representing management regarding rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act, including response to employee complaints and other concerted activities, union organizational activity, and unfair labor practices charges. David authors the Christian & Small Employment Law update, a subscription-based e-newsletter through which he advises clients regarding new developments in labor and employment law, including new statutes and regulations.
- American Bar Association (ABA): Member, Labor and Employment Section
- Alabama State Bar: Member, Labor and Employment Section
- Birmingham Bar Association: Member
- King’s Home: Pro Bono Legal Counsel
- Recognized by 2020 Chambers USA in Labor & Employment: Alabama
- AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011-2021 in the fields of Litigation – Labor and Employment and Employment Law – Management
- Selected by The Best Lawyers in America® in 2018 as “Lawyer of the Year” for Labor & Employment Litigation
- Selected for inclusion in Mid-South Region Super Lawyers in 2019 in the field of Labor & Employment
- Recognized by Benchmark Litigation as an Alabama “Labor & Employment Star”
- Employment Civil Rights Claims – Represented businesses in administrative charges, lawsuits and arbitrations involving claims of unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation and interference with protected rights, including:
- Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- USERRA
- Family-Medical Leave Act
- Code § 25-5-11.1
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – Defended manufacturers, hospitals, restaurants, landscapers, and event staffing businesses in FLSA collective actions with possible classes ranging from 50 to 2,500 members. Many settled for nominal amounts before a motion for conditional certification filed.
- Recent defense of putative FLSA collective action with a possible class of 5,000 current and former employees. Settled with the three named plaintiffs for $15,000 without the class being certified.
- Defense of ten other collective actions for settlements of less than $12,500 and without class being certified.
- National Labor Relations Act – Advised manufacturers in defeating organizational efforts by trade unions and successfully defending unfair labor practices asserted under the National Labor Relations Act arising from the union organizational campaigns.
- Represented general contractor managing construction of an electrical power steam plant under a specially-negotiated collective bargaining agreement with 13 trade unions. Representation included enjoining of wildcat strikes and defense of union jurisdictional issues, unfair labor practice charges and grievances and arbitrations.
- Federal contractors – Represented national manufacturer in negotiating proposed multimillion-dollar fine levied by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance for affirmative action violations to a back-pay award of under $100,000.
- Presenter, EPIC Systems, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Inaugural Wage & Hour ExecuSummit, Hartford, Connecticut (November 2018)
- Author, The Resolution of Employment Claims: Alternatives to the Traditional Judicial Forum, Alabama Defense Lawyer Association Journal, Volume 34, No. 1 (Spring 2018)
- Presenter, Employer Obligations To Provide Leave – The Triad: The Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act, The Family Medical Leave Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act, Alabama Self-Insured Association Summer Conference, Sandestin, Fla. (August 2018)
- Presenter, Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation – The New Battleground for Title VII Claims?, Alabama Self-Insured Association Summer Conference, Sandestin, Fla. (August 2015)
- Author, Alternative Dispute Resolution of Employment Claims, Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (April 2015)
- Presenter at the 2014 Primerus Business Law Institute Symposium in New York City, NY: Social Media in the Workplace (May 15, 2014)
- Presenter at Greater Birmingham Apartment Association and the Greater Birmingham Association of Landscape Professionals: The Alabama Immigration Act – Its Current Impact on Your Business (December 2011).
- Presenter at the Alabama Association of Municipal Attorneys/Alabama Municipal Association: Employment Issues for Public Employers – The New, the Revised and the Old, Spring Law Conference (March 2011).
