DaVita Healthcare Worker to Get Trial on Disability Bias Claims

A jury could find that DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. discriminated against a patient care technician who developed sensitivity to an acid mixture used to perform kidney dialysis, a federal judge ruled.

A significant question in Sharon Duncan’s case is whether mixing glycol acetic acid was an essential function of her position or the sort of marginal task DaVita could have excused her from performing, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama said Aug. 12. If it wasn’t essential, Duncan may have been a qualified worker with a disability that DaVita was required to accommodate under the Americans ...