Betty Ford Centre has sacked an employee who accused actress Lindsay Lohan of attacking her.

A spokesman for the rehablitation centre Russ Patrick said Dawn Holland was dismissed for breaking patient confidentiality at the Palm Desert, California, clinic by giving interviews and “disclosing a privileged document”.

He said Ms Holland’s interview was a breach of trust and the rehabilitation process.

“When patients come to the centre for treatment, they come to a safe place where their identity is protected, where anonymity is safeguarded,” he said.

Mean Girls star Ms Lindsay, 24, is being investigated by Riverside County sheriff’s detectives for misdemeanour battery following a confrontation on December 12.

A police official said deputies were called to the Betty Ford centre shortly after 1 a.m. after an altercation between Ms Lohan and Ms Holland.

Ms Lohan’s lawyer said the actress called the police emergency number.

Neither Betty Ford nor the sheriff’s officials identified Ms Holland, but she appeared in an interview on celebrity website TMZ, claiming Ms Lohan and two other girls had sneaked out of the centre.

Ms Holland said she was trying to get Ms Lohan to submit to a breathalyser test when the actress became belligerent, pushed her and snatched a phone from her hand, straining her arm.

Riverside County sheriff’s deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said Ms Lohan’s case would be presented to prosecutors, who would decide whether she should be charged.