The convicted murderer-turned-child-welfare worker who allegedly assaulted a 6-year-old boy in a shelter has finally been suspended from his job, authorities said.
But Jacques Edwards could be back working — and back on the payroll — at the Administration for Children’s Services by early September if he fights to keep his city civil-service job, the head of legal services for his union told The Post.
Under union rules, an employee facing criminal charges can be on unpaid leave or suspension for only 30 days, said Darek Robinson, vice president for grievances and legal services for Local 371, which handles social-service employees.
Meanwhile, the union-protected process for firing Edwards can take “months,” Robinson said.
“More than likely, they’ll have to bring him back on payroll until the conclusion” of a series of hearings, recommendations and cross-responses, he said, adding, “He has the right to due process.”
Edwards, 55 — who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 225 pounds — allegedly was caught on video surveillance on Aug. 3 shoving the child’s head into a door, then into a filing cabinet.
Afterward, his criminal background emerged.
Edwards had served three decades in prison for murder, attempted murder and other Brooklyn-based charges before being hired by ACS in March 2014 — less than two years after he was sprung on parole, records show.
But ACS had failed to order a background check for Edwards as required by state law, according to the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.
“He’s an employee of the facility,” attorney Jean O’Hearn told a judge Friday morning, standing beside Edwards in Manhattan Criminal Court. “He’s been reassigned.”
But by the afternoon, his bosses had managed to cut through enough red tape to suspend him, a source told The Post.
Edwards had previously been on leave without pay.
“We have begun the disciplinary process to terminate him,” said ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman.
“If he were applying to work at ACS today, under our current process, he would not have been put in this role.”
Edwards, who is free on $15,000 bail, was in court to learn that a grand jury had yet to indict him; he must return on Aug. 24.
Edwards faces charges of assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Neither Edwards nor his lawyer would comment on his job status.
“That individual will not be working at ACS in the future and will go nowhere near children,” Mayor de Blasio had said after Edwards’ arrest.
