Your Employer Can Take Adverse Actions Against You Even Before A Jury Finds You Guilty Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

You can sue your employer for employment discrimination if your employer takes an adverse action against you because of a protected characteristic, such as your race, age, sex, national origin, religion, family status, or disability.  Likewise, you can sue for retaliation if your employer fires you for engaging in a protected activity such as notifying authorities about workplace safety violations, requesting disability accommodations, or filing a workers’ compensation claim.  Criminal cases are not a protected activity, though, and a history of interactions with the criminal justice system is not a protected characteristic.  Employers can see your arrest records on criminal background checks, and they can fire you, refuse to hire you, or take other adverse actions because of it.  The criminal court cannot order you to serve a sentence unless you have entered a guilty plea or a jury has convicted you at trial, but employers do not have the same duty to observe due process.  They are concerned about the bottom line, and they can fire you if your criminal case makes them look bad.  If you are facing criminal charges that are threatening to derail your career, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.

Anesthesiologist Loses Hospital Privileges While Criminal Case Is Pending

The administrators of email services must notify law enforcement when they find evidence that their clients are using their email accounts to possess or distribute images or video content showing sexual abuse of minors.  Law enforcement in Broward County received such a tip from Yahoo regarding emails that David Rerko had sent to himself at his Yahoo email address.  As the investigation progressed, investigators found more than 200 illegal images in Rerko’s possession, depicting girls between the ages of eight and 13.  His name appeared in the email signatures.

Rerko, 61, was arrested in September 2024 and taken to the Broward County jail, where his bond has been set at $110,000.  He is facing charges for 11 felony counts.  Rerko is an anesthesiologist who is officially employed by a staffing firm but works at Broward North; it is common for physicians and other healthcare workers to have staffing firms as their official employers while they work at one or more hospitals.  He has been licensed to practice medicine in Florida since 2006 and also holds a medical license in Mississippi.  Broward North suspended his hospital privileges, so that he can no longer treat patients while his case is pending, or until Broward North reinstates his privileges.  News reports did not indicate whether his medical license has been suspended as a result of the pending criminal case.  As for the criminal case, Rerko is presumed innocent until proven guilty, as with all defendants in criminal cases.

Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/florida-anesthesiologist-abuse-images-arrest-b2612728.html