Two former employees at a long-term care facility in Florida say they were fired for coming to work while infected with the novel coronavirus, though the employees say they were unaware they had the virus, according to The New York Times.
Avante at Lake Worth (Fla.) Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing fired Jean-Junior Vertu and Marie Julceus in May and early June, citing a policy violation because the employees came to work while infected with COVID-19, according to the employees and their union, which has filed grievances over the dismissals.
Both Mr. Vertu and Ms. Julceus had received a routine COVID-19 test at their other jobs and continued working while waiting for the results. Both say they had had no symptoms.
"They call me a criminal. It's terrible," said Mr. Vertu.
John Hornack, general counsel at Avante Group, said the company couldn't comment because the union grievance was pending.
Recent research shows that Lake Worth-based Oasis Health and Rehabilitation Center, where Ms. Julceus worked nights, is connected via shared staff to 25 other "high-risk" facilities that have also had outbreaks.