Tonya,

I wish you luck with this. It must be very stressful for you &
your family.

I will tell you one thing, if that incident had happened here
where I work, both individuals would have been immediately
terminated. End of story. Indiana is an "at will" state. Anyone
can be let go at any time (or, at the will of the employer) If you
had not retaliated (easy for me to say, I know) your case would
have been much stronger & you probably could have sued him
in civil court as well as press charges in criminal court for assault.

I don't work in a union enviroment, so I really don't know much
about how much they can help in this case. I'd listen to your Dad's
advice I guess. Good Luck.