Subject to Court approval, the essential terms of the Settlement are as follows:
Davita will pay a total of $420,000 as part of the Settlement, apportioned as follows:
- Class Fund: Davita will pay $300,000, which will be available for the payment of Settlement Awards to Settlement Class Members who do not timely opt out of this Settlement.
- Service Award: Davita will pay $5,000 to Plaintiff and Class Representative Megan Fanelli for serving as proposed class representative in this Case.
- Settlement Administration Expenses Award: Davita will pay up to $9,500 to the Settlement Administrator for the processing of the Settlement, including the expenses of providing notice of the Settlement to Settlement Class Members, handling the claims administration process, processing payments to Settlement Class Members, and handling tax reporting requirements. Any money remaining from Settlement Administration Expenses Award after fully paying the Settlement Administrator will be distributed to Class Counsel as a supplemental attorney fees and costs award.
- Attorney Fees and Costs Award: Davita will pay $103,100 to Plaintiff’s attorney for the attorney fees and litigation costs they have incurred and will incur through final judgment in representing Plaintiff and the Settlement Class, plus an additional $2,400 to cover the mediation fees incurred by Class Counsel in this Case.
Monetary Relief: The amount available to the Settlement Class is intended to compensate Settlement Class Members for the disputed wages and other compensation they allegedly lost and damages they are allegedly owed as a result of the practices alleged in the Case. As noted above, Davita strongly denies the allegations in this matter, and the Court has not made any determinations in this case regarding liability.
Distribution of Settlement Fund: Each Settlement Class Member who does not submit a valid and timely request for exclusion will automatically receive a settlement payment. Your settlement payment will be calculated based on an analysis of your time records at Davita, which includes your hours worked, information regarding your missed or non-compliant meal periods (if any), and rates of pay. The calculation of the settlement award for each individual Settlement Class Member will be based on the percentage relationship between the dollar value of all missed or non-compliant meal periods that the employee reported to Davita from April 22, 2016, through and including May 2, 2020 (the “Claim Period”) and the aggregate dollar value of all missed or non-compliant meal periods that all Settlement Class Members reported to Davita during the Claim Period. Settlement Class Members will be paid the greater of: (i) Twenty Dollars ($20.00) (the “Minimum Payment”); or (ii) their pro rata share of the Class Fund (exclusive of any Minimum Payments) based on the above described calculations. Settlement Class Members who did not report any missed or non-compliant meal periods to Davita during the Claim Period will receive the Minimum Payment. Checks will be mailed to Settlement Class Members by the Settlement Administrator. If any checks have not been deposited within one hundred eighty (180) days after distribution, the funds from those checks will be considered Residual Funds. These Residual Funds will be distributed by the Settlement Administrator to the Legal Foundation of Washington. Davita will not receive funds from any uncashed checks.
Tax Treatment of Settlement Awards: Fifty Percent (50%) of each Settlement Class Member’s settlement award will be treated as wages and subject to normal tax withholding and shall be reported to the taxing authorities and the Settlement Class Member on an IRS Form W‑2. Fifty Percent (50%) of each Settlement Class Member’s settlement award will be treated as non-wages (penalties, enhancements, and prejudgment interest) on which there will be no tax withholding and for which an IRS Form 1099 (marked “Other Income”) shall be issued to the taxing authorities and the Settlement Class Member. In addition to the monies it is contributing to the Settlement Fund described above, Davita is also paying all required employer‑paid taxes incurred as part of the Settlement, as well as an additional Two Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) directly to the Settlement Administrator to help defray the cost of administering the Settlement. Davita’s payment of these employer‑paid taxes and separate settlement administration payment will not decrease the funds available to Settlement Class Members.
Release of Claims: Upon final approval by the Court, the Settlement Class and each Settlement Class Member who has not submitted a valid and timely written request to be excluded from the Settlement will irrevocably release all claims against Davita, whether known or unknown, that were brought or that could have been brought based on any facts alleged in the Complaint with respect to a failure to provide compliant meal periods under Washington law during the Claim Period and/or for failing to provide proper payment for any missed, interrupted, shortened, untimely, or non-compliant meal periods under Washington law during the period from April 22, 2016, through and including August 20, 2020 (the date the Class Action Settlement was preliminarily approved by the Superior Court), including, but not limited to, any claims for, arising out of, or relating to any missed, interrupted, shortened, untimely, or non-compliant meal periods, and any claims for unpaid overtime, premium pay, differential pay, penalties, enhancements, and/or attorney fees and costs attendant to any alleged missed, interrupted, shortened, untimely, or non-compliant meal periods.
Dismissal of Action: Upon final approval, the Court will enter a judgment of dismissal of the Case with prejudice, but shall retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement.