An employee on the autistic spectrum at McDonald’s, in the city of São Pedro D’Aldeia, in the Lakes Region of Rio de Janeiro, reported one of the store managers for having been bitten during her work shift.
The victim Ana Cláudia Prudencio Lessa, 29 years old, stated in a statement at the police station that the bite “happened on the left arm, in the products/delivery aisle”.
A video recorded by one of the restaurant’s internal cameras shows the moment the bite occurred.
The case was in June and the employee contacted the police station just over a week later. She further stated that she did not go to the police before because she took the matter to other managers and was waiting for action from the company until then.
Ana Cláudia also claimed that although the place was monitored by cameras, the images had not been shown to her and that when she asked the manager why she had done that, she replied that “it was a joke”.
The manager who appears in the recording is Mariana Cerdeira. During her testimony she denied having bitten the autistic employee. She also said that on the day of the incident she was “teaching the job so that Ana Cláudia could be promoted”.
The McDonald’s manager further stated that “she knows that the employee has a history of self-injury, which she witnessed at work arriving with an apparent injury and bleeding from her hand; that on another occasion, Ana Cláudia arrived at work with cuts on her forearm and that she had already had crises witnessed by her colleagues”.
The forensic examination shows that the injury to the autistic employee’s arm was caused by a blunt action. And that there is a trace on the bodily integrity or health of the person being examined.
A medical report presented by the victim records that she is under psychiatric care, that the patient has social difficulties, hearing hypersensitivity, irritability when her routine is not respected, among others.
The document also attests that the patient is unable to perform work duties for a period of 180 days, nor is she able to go to the workplace. The document also advises that your rights as a person with a disability are guaranteed as required by law. Ana Cláudia is, therefore, removed from her duties.
The case was registered at the police station in the city of São Pedro D’Aldeia (125th DP) as a bodily injury. On September 23, the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro also charged the manager of the cafeteria with bodily injury and also requested the payment of compensation to the autistic employee.
THE CNN contacted the McDonald’s chain, which stated that “The company reiterates its commitment to a safe, respectful, inclusive environment that rejects any type of violence, having adopted all appropriate measures”. The company also highlighted that it “reinforces that it offers support to the employee and is carefully monitoring the case.”
We contacted Ana Cláudia Prudencio Lessa’s defense and have not yet heard back and the manager involved in the case, Mariana Cerdeira, has not yet given us a response.
This content was originally published in Video shows an autistic McDonald’s employee in RJ being bitten by a manager on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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