Davita Subsidiary Wins Employee Suit Over Covid-19 Pay Policy

Davita Inc. subsidiary Total Renal Care Inc. defeated an employee’s claim that he was entitled to receive extra pay for working during the Covid-19 public health emergency because the company’s “disaster relief” policy didn’t apply, a federal trial court said.

The policy set out in TRC’s employee manual didn’t create a contract that obligated the firm to pay employees 1.5 times their base pay during a declared emergency or natural disaster, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington said.

Even if the policy constituted a contract, it didn’t give rise to a duty of good faith and ...