Carol Waterman was one of the clerks you'd see behind the counter at the post office. She says she "liked my job."
Waterman worked at a number of post offices, including the one in Memphis in Onondaga County. In 1998, she became disabled and so, began a ten year battle over back pay that continues to this day.
Waterman showed Action News two full crates of files that represent a decade long battle with the postal service to retreive an estimated $40,000 in back pay. She thought she lost the fight, but on February 23rd, 2007, Waterman won her appeal before the U.S. Labor Department's Employee Compensation Board. It found the postal service"did not follow procedural requirements." in denying Waterman's claim for back pay.
But after two years, Waterman says,. "I'm still waiting for my back pay."
Even though she won, Waterman says she was told the Employee Compensation Board has no power to enforce their rulings. "Does that make sense?" she asks, "Why have an appeals board if they can't enforce their decisions."
After two years of waiting, Carol Waterman decided to take her fight public hoping a news story will rattle some cages. "Maybe I can embarrass them enough to pay me."
Twenty minutes after we left a message at his office, Zev Sapir, Regional Director of the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration called back. Zapir said he "can't talk due to confidentiality", but added "we want to set things right."
Wednesday afternoon, Carol Waterman received a call from a new manager assigned to her case by the Labor Department.
