Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Assault on Healthcare workers by patients

I work in a residential psychiatric treatment center for children and adolescents. In December, an e-mail was sent out and a mandatory meeting was held to inform staff that they would not be allowed to press charges against juveniles who had assaulted them. The decision, we were told, would be by committee, and the CEO of the facility would have the final say. This would seem to be an abrogation of each individual's civil/constitutional rights. FL statute 784.076 provides otherwise. The general perception of the e-mail/memo is that one's job would be in jeopardy if charges were brought, and that the threat of assault ''comes with the territory.'' The whole thing is cloaked in a ''clinical value to the child'' consideration. The fact is that the facility loses revenue for the 30 days that the child is held in the juvenile detention center. I'd like to know if the employer's position is legal! Thank you


Asked on 2/22/03, 2:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Stern Shavitz Law Group

Re: Assault on Healthcare workers by patients

Tough call on whether this violates any law. There is no definitive answer I can give, but if you are ever assaulted, you should 100% report it if you believe it is necessary to do so. If your ER then fires you, you would seem to have a legal claim against them.

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Answered on 2/22/03, 12:07 pm


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