In a striking legal move, a former employee has filed a lawsuit against her previous employer, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. On December 30, 2025, Tahisha Dukes filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia against DVA Renal Healthcare, Inc., doing business as DaVita Inc. The case brings to light serious allegations of workplace misconduct that could have broader implications for employment practices within the healthcare industry.
Tahisha Dukes, who worked as a dietician at DaVita Inc., claims she was subjected to discriminatory treatment based on her race during her tenure with the company. Hired on August 14, 2018, Dukes noticed differential treatment compared to her non-black colleagues. Despite receiving a “high performing” evaluation from her supervisor Linda Fernandez in January 2024, promising merit pay increases and an advancement in her clinical ladder rating, these promises were never fulfilled. Instead, Dukes received a written warning on June 4, 2024, for alleged performance issues that she argues were unfounded and not applied to her white counterparts.
Dukes’s attempts to address these issues internally began with complaints to Human Resources and teammate relations in June 2024 about racial discrimination. However, by October 2024, an internal investigation concluded without finding evidence of discrimination. Her situation worsened when she was required to report physically to the office on certain days while white colleagues were not held to the same standard. This pattern of alleged retaliation continued into 2025 when Dukes’s work hours and pay were reduced following her filing of an EEOC Charge.
The complaint details how Dukes’s efforts to seek resolution were met with further punitive actions rather than support or redress from DaVita Inc. By May 2025, despite requests for closer work assignments due to travel constraints from home locations being more than three hours away, no viable options were provided. Ultimately, this led to another reduction in hours and pay by $18,000 annually without adequate explanation or opportunity for recourse.
Dukes is seeking judgment from the court that includes compensatory damages for lost wages and emotional distress due to the alleged violations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. §1981. She also seeks punitive damages citing willful misconduct by DaVita Inc., along with attorney fees and injunctive relief such as reinstatement or front pay.
Representing Tahisha Dukes are attorneys V. Severin Roberts and Patrick Reid from The Workers’ Firm. The case is presided over by Judge J.R.H., with Case ID: 1:25-cv-00307-JRH-BKE.
Source: 125cv00307_Tahisha_Dukes_v_DVA_Renal_Complaint_Southern_District_of_Georgia.pdf
