A woman is suing Davita Inc., alleging she was forced to resign in 2023 due to harassment from a director unhappy that the plaintiff was taking time off to undergo and in-vitro fertilization procedure.
Ashley Batista’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include disability, sex and pregnancy discrimination as well as harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Batista seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
A representative for the Fortune 500 company, which provides kidney dialysis services nationwide, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Tuesday.
Batista was hired in January 2023 as a group services administrator. Her duties included participating in corporate meetings with co-workers and supervisors as well as hiring and firing employees and managing finances. She oversaw Davita operations in two hospitals and also reported to the company’s main office in El Segundo.
Batista traveled at least 200 miles daily to her job duties from her Newport Beach home. She alleges Davita reneged on a promise to eventually transfer her to Davita’s Orange County office.
Batista, who has only one ovary, began trying to get pregnant in April 2023 through IVF, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff was 35 at the time and contends IVF was the only way she could become an expectant mother.
The plaintiff was given time off for the IVF process, but when she returned Davita management gave her additional work than she previously had before her leave and she believes it was in retaliation for requesting leave, according to the suit.
A regional operations director also required Batista to perform assignments on the plaintiff’s days off, even though she was using vacation or sick time, the suit states. When Batista told the director on one occasion that she needed to leave work early because the plaintiff had vomited at work, the director nonetheless told her to first take part in a conference call with co-workers, leaving Batista feeling “bullied and humiliated,” the suit states.
The director also called and texted Batista while the plaintiff was undergoing a procedure to remove an intrauterine device from her uterus so she could get pregnant through the IVF process, according to the suit, which further alleges that the director asked for proof that Batista had indeed undergone the medical procedure.
The director allegedly continued harassing Batista after the plaintiff successfully became pregnant last November. The director wrote up Batista for allegedly not generating enough revenue at her two assigned work hospitals and put her on a performance improvement plan, the suit further contends.
Batista resigned in December due to her need to protect the safety of her pregnancy and mental health, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff has suffered emotional distress due to being forced out of her job.