Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Actress Lindsay Lohan called 911 to ask for police help during an `` incident '' at the Betty Ford Center , her lawyer said Wednesday . The statement from Shawn Chapman Holley came after the rehab center fired an employee who reportedly leaked details of a tussle with Lohan . Holley declined to comment on what happened in the incident , but added that `` it should be noted '' that it was Lohan who called the police . Authorities in the Southern California city of Palm Desert confirmed Tuesday that they are investigating a claim that Lohan assaulted an employee at the center . Meanwhile , the employee , Dawn Holland , has hired a lawyer with an eye to filing employment and civil rights claims against the center . Holland was `` targeted , unmercifully interrogated , intimidated and threatened with her livelihood '' by the treatment center , lawyer Keith Davidson said . The accusations have thrust the actress back into the spotlight . `` The incident involved Lindsay Lohan and another female adult -- a staff member at the location and was reported as a suspect in the investigation , '' the Palm Desert Police Department said . `` The victim desires prosecution and the incident is being investigated as a misdemeanor committed not in the presence of a police officer . '' The employee was fired after information was leaked to the media , the center said Tuesday . `` When patients come to the center for treatment , they come to a safe place where their identity is protected , where anonymity is safeguarded , '' the center said in a statement . `` Regrettably , on December 21 , 2010 , one of our employees violated strict confidentiality guidelines and laws by publicly identifying patients in a media interview and by disclosing a privileged document.That employee has been terminated by the Betty Ford Center . '' The center did not confirm that Holland is the employee in question . Lohan checked into the Betty Ford Center on September 27 , after it became clear a judge intended to send her to jail because of a failed drug test . The judge eventually ordered Lohan to stay in the drug rehabilitation program until January 3 instead of going to jail . If Lohan violates the rules of her rehab program or fails a drug test before her next court date in February , she will be sent to jail for 180 days , a Los Angeles Superior Court has ordered . CNN 's Brittany Kaplan contributed to this report .
NEW : The actress called police for help , her lawyer says . Lindsay Lohan checked herself into the Betty Ford Center in September . If she fails a drug test , she will be ordered to go to jail . Palm Desert police say they are investigating a claim that Lohan and an employee were in a scuffle .