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It started in a
Naval hospital--an injury claim, corruption, and coverup. Joe Perez refused orders
to deny her claim in OWCP, and it led to the Long Beach hearing, and a naval captain's
promotion to admiral is held up while the truth comes to light.
Read the Strange Case of Susan Yake.
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--The problem of a hidden occupational illness called MCS, and toxic exposure.
One reviewer of her latest book, on amazon.com says :
"Having any chronic illness is challenging. Having a chronic illness that is not
recognized by mainstream medicine can be a nightmare... And patients, feeling alienated
and ostracized, find themselves caught in the crossfire of a bitter tug of war between
traditional and alternative (environmentally aware) physicians." |
Matthews Books available from Amazon.com
Click on book |
Bonnye
Matthews, a published author, injured federal worker, and now a FedupFeds member, has
brought national attention and research to the hidden problem of Multiple Chemical
Sensitivity (MCS) on the job.
See Bonnye Matthews and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
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| Mary Dryovage filing for disability discrimination in federal
work |
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See motion filed with EEOC by San Francisco
labor lawyer Mary Dryovage.
"Disparate impact is proven when the U.S.Postal Service is shown to have taken an
action which falls more harshly on one group on account of their age /disability and
cannot be justified by business necessity."
"This case illustrates the extremes to which the Postal Service is willing to go to
push out employees who were injured on the job or are disabled. The Investigative File in
these 29 cases does not reveal any effort by the USPS to accommodate the disabled
Complainants. The position descriptions show that "reasonable accommodation" was
not possible in the Clerk Craft positions to which many of the Complainants were
transferred. See Exhibit G and H. The USPS did not accommodate Complainants; they
transferred disabled and limited duty Special Delivery Messengers to positions which
"took away" previously existing accommodations or created onerous working
conditions which caused disabling conditions to fester and/or manifest themselves or told
them to sit in the lunch room for eight hours a day and
refused to assign them to any position."
See Dryovage home page for more.
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Marilyn Oakes is a Certified Pain Practitioner in Alabama. Her page is useful because of the scholarship
and scope.
She talks about discrediting pain opinions from untrained doctors, by cross-
examining them in hearings. It has occurred to us that OWCP and the law--the FECA--
deny due process by never allowing that kind of cross- examination under any
circumstances.
"Part of the problem is that chronic pain management differs
significantly from acute pain management. Because of the associated challenges, some
physicians treat chronic pain patients (and their attorneys) with hostility. These doctors
seem to believe that if the patient had been really sick or hurt, then he would be well by
now. Sooner or later, the patient's pain affronts the physician - "you can't be
hurting; I fixed you." From sheer frustration, physicians may disparage the pain.
Plaintiffs' attorneys should expect personal pain, if they do not study chronic pain
before depositions. ...
"The purpose of this lecture is to identify ten common pain myths,
potential solutions to the problems posed by the myths, and relevant Alabama case law. By
using the pain literature to frame better questions, attorneys may improve outcomes for
their clients, while decreasing personal pain."
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From Organizing for Keeps:
"We need to build leaders who can transform organizations to meet the demands of this
battle, leaders who recognize that first and foremost, the existence of a trade union is
predicated on the need to defend and advance the interests of workers, not to justify and
legitimate the interests of management..." Read more.
Want to see what federal workers have in common with other working people on
health care issues? This is IT: Idea
Central - Health Policy.
Read up on the latest on federal jobs
outsourcing: see Federal unions talk to Gore.
Federal unions are in the same boat facing the same threats in different
agencies. Read how AFGE president explodes the myths about contracting out federal
jobs in Congressional testimony.
Overheard in an OWCP training' office: "He took an IQ
test... and the results were negative..."
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Why is the Perez case important to all federal
workers?
The Federal Times said "The case may open the Office of
Workers' Compensation Programs to renewed questions about the way it handles
benefits claims." |
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FedupFeds
publishes the complete collection of documents from Joseph Perez.
See Perez' 88-page testimony in this site.
Read the feature on Perez and FedupFeds from the Federal
Times Oct 5th online edition.
Many have joined the campaign to protest the retaliation for his
integrity.
Your voice is heard.
Your response to our call for
support was outstanding. Even the Federal Times admitted that "Perez's case
has aroused widespread attention among injured workers, many of whom say the workers'
compensation office has treated them badly and ignored medical evidence supporting their
benefits claims".
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Rep. Horn's
July 6 hearing in Long Beach was a credit to the courageous workers there who testified
about the abuses suffered by injured federal workers. In an emotional but
dignified manner, they focused on the same problems brought out in FedupFeds members'
statements. OWCP insiders Perez and Usher testified about the problems within OWCP.
FedupFeds members' online statements were submitted into the
hearing record along with the legislative agenda to reform OWCP laws. The Susan Yake case prompted the hearing.
FedupFeds' Director & webmaster traveled to Long Beach (at
their own expense) to testify and meet with officials at the July 6 hearing.
See FedupFeds position statement given to the Subcommittee on Government Management,
Information and Technology in FedupFeds was there.
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MIWA says
huge & growing costs of work related illnesses are shoved off on workers and their
HMO's (and premiums). Read it.
MIWA shows a long list of
occupations where exposure to certain toxics is routine. Many of these are
represented somewhere in the FEDERAL workforce as well as in private industry.
"Fewer than 500 inspectors are available to inspect 4.1
million workplaces. Legal exposure standards exist for fewer than 500 of the more than
15,000 toxic substances used in industry. Most illness contracted on the job is not even
recognized as being work-related, and its victims go unprotected, uncounted, and
uncompensated." -- Chemical profile, MIWA
Question: How much does FEDERAL worker illness from the job cost
workers and private health insurance?
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| Is the
OWCP system a "gravy train" -- or a national disgrace? |
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The Federal Times headline read "Workers' Comp can Beat
Salaries" -- but we proved it was slanted and misleading, and we used their own
sources to prove it. We responded to them, and to the media, and to federal unions.
See National Disgrace
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| Robert
Farmer-- leukemia victim and FedupFeds member-- documents the growing menace
of toxic hazards in the federal workplace in Toxic
Kitsap and Polluted Puget. |
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