Court worker files HIPAA suit, says she was searched daily after misconstrued remark
It all began with what a worker at a Nevada courthouse describes as a misconstrued remark.
Irritated at being pushed to work harder on a Monday, due to an early exit the previous Friday by another worker who was upset at being criticized by a judge, Jacquelynn Nickler said something along the lines of “no wonder stuff like Friday happens,” reports KLAS.
Nickler, who is employed as a clerk at the Clark County district attorney’s office, says she was talking about her fellow worker’s early departure from the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. However, the previous Friday was the day gunman Adam Lanza killed 26 people at an elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
The next thing she knew, officials were removing cartoons, including one of a snowman being threatened with a hair dryer, from her work area. Nickler was questioned, suspended and required to get a psychological evaluation before she was allowed back to work.
Even then, she was required to go through a weapons screening and pat-down search before work every day. Other employees simply present a court identification card before going inside.
After nearly two years of this treatment, she has sued Clark County, the station reports.
Her lawyer, Cal Potter, says she is being punished for refusing to provide officials with a copy of the report by the doctor who cleared her as fit to work. It, however, is protected by privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
“That’s what makes absolutely no sense and that’s why I believe it’s in retaliation for her not giving up her HIPAA rights,” he says of the county’s insistence on searching his client before letting her into the courthouse.
Court officials declined to comment, saying that it is their policy not to discuss pending litigation. However, the Regional Justice Center provided the following written statement:
“The Eighth Judicial District Court is responsible for the security of over one million courthouse visitors per year. We take this responsibility very seriously and will always remain vigilant in the administration of our security procedure.”
