Mr. ZEFERETTI. Thank you very much.

Mrs. SNIDER. Thank you.

Mr. GAYDOS. Mrs. Snider, after 45 days expired you still had disability and you stayed out additional days. Could you remember, to the best of your recollection, how many additional days you stayed, out, away from your place of employment?

Mrs. SNIDER. I think I was off for approximately 5 days after that because I went back and had to take off because I just couldn't do the job, and I didn't see any point in sitting there all day if you weren't able to do your work.

Mr. GAYDOS. Then am I accurate in assuming what you are saying is that after 45 days you tried to go back to work and you couldn't take it because you were probably in some more discomfort and you took off an additional 5 days? Is that pretty accurate?

Mrs. SNIDER. Yes.

Mr. GAYDOS. Were you paid for those 5 days?

Mrs. SNIDER. No. Well, that was my annual leave I used, so that was me paying my own way back.

Mr. GAYDOS. When you took that annual leave did you indicate to anybody-

Mrs. SNIDER. Yes, my supervisor said you only get 45 days, and that is all they will give you.

Mr. GAYDOS. Did he explain to you that if you had continued disability as a result of your accident that you could be compensated for additional time?

Mrs. SNIDER. No.

Mr. GAYDOS. Let me ask you this, Mrs. Snider, before I forget. Have you heard from your fellow employees complaints of a similar nature involving compensation cases?

Mrs. SNIDER. Not that.

Mr. GAYDOS. Have any of your fellow employees ever stated formally or informally that they thought the service was inadequate or that they were being mistreated or they thought they were not receiving what they should have received? Did you ever hear that comment?

Mrs. SNIDER. Yes, because there have been several that fell down there because of wet floors and they drew nothing. They had to take their own time off. They said they just don't pay those things. Mr. GAYDOS. Are you saying then to the committee that you have personal knowledge of individuals that have suffered accidents at the workplace?

Mrs. SNIDER. Yes.

Mr. GAYDOS. And they were not compensated?

Mrs. SNIDER. They were not compensated. They had to take their own annual leave for it.

Mr. GAYDOS. How much time? Were they off a week? Two weeks? Mrs. SNIDER. I think they were off about 15 days, 10 to 15 days. because of the foot injury.

Mr. GAYDOS. You know of cases where employees have slipped at work and were off 15 days roughly and never were compensated and had to attribute that pay to-

Mrs. SNIDER. Their annual leave plus sick leave.

Mr. GAYDOS. Did they complain, do you know, to their supervisor or somebody else in the building?

Mrs. SNIDER. Well, I think they did. I couldn't swear to it, but I was talking to her not long ago and she said that she should have been paid but she wasn't because she didn't know the floors were that slippery and they do wax them pretty heavily.

Mr. GAYDOS. Generally is it your feeling that there is dissatisfaction with the way the program works now?

Mrs. SNIDER. Yes, I do because you go for information and you get the runaround, and in the statements that you fill out your supervisor is supposed to take care of it and see that you have the right papers and are instructed, but then when you go to the office you don't get that because they just hand you the papers and say "Fill these out", and that is it. "Bring them back to the office."

Mr. SARASIN. If the Chairman would yield, what employee unit do you work for in IRS?

Mrs. SNIDER. In the Audit Division.

Mr. SARASIN. And what is the name of your supervisor?
Mrs. SNIDER. Well, at the time it was Wilson Stockey.

Mr. SARASIN. Stockey.

Mrs. SNIDER. Stockey and O'Hanlon, but O'Hanlon has now been transferred to Connecticut, and so is this other one going to be leaving in June.

Mr. GAYDOS. Mr. Myers.

Mr. MYERS. Mr. Chairman, I would just like to thank Mrs. Snider for her testimony. I think she has pointed out some key things, and from my experience in my office it seems that you send the proper paperwork in to have a claim processed and it goes to one person. You call back 3 days later, another person is on the phone, and they ask for the same material, and your file is placed in an incomplete status, so it stays there until you call again. Then you have a third person on the line. We have this continually. I think one person should be assigned to a case until it is completed, and once there is a Congressional inquiry made thereof they have someone do that. That has been my experience.

Mrs. SNIDER. I have even called down there.

Mr. MYERS. I have one question I would like to ask you. The gentleman who grabbed you is still with IRS? Is he still employed there?

Mrs. SNIDER. He is now retired but he is with the credit union in the IRS on the ground floor.

Mr. MYERS. It seems the Redskins could use him.
Mrs. SNIDER. They could.

Mr. GAYDOS. Are there any further questions from any member? Mrs. Snider, on behalf of the committee I am really sincerely grateful for your taking the time out to come here and the courage to come here and attempt to enlighten us and for giving us what I know are going to prove to be most meaningful facts.

Mrs. Patton, would you proceed in the manner you deem best, with a summary or read a statement?

Mrs. PATTON. I would like to give you a summary. My purpose today is not to collect the checks that I feel I duly deserve, but is to call to the committee's attention the total unresponsiveness of those offices.

Now, Mr. Myers commented that in calling to the office that you may get one person one day, you may get someone else the next. I have experienced calling the office and letting the phone ring 112 times without even being answered.

Mr. GAYDOS. Isn't there an automatic cutoff after so long?

Mrs. PATTON. It took me over 10 minutes to do that. I had called periodically all day long and could not get an answer. It was not a holiday, I am a Government employee, and I was at the time out of work, but it wasn't a holiday.

Mr. GAYDOS. I don't want to interrupt your thought but give me a time, date, and where you called, or do you have a written statement to submit which would include that information?

Mrs. PATTON. Yes, sir, I will be glad to submit this file that I have. That occurred January 19 of 1977. I started calling at 8:30 that morning, and this occurred at 2:50 p.m. That is when I allowed the phone to ring 112 times.

Mr. GAYDOS. You called from which location to which office? Mrs. PATTON. I was out of work at the time. I called from my home and I was calling to the District 25 office.

Mr. GAYDOS. Whom do you work for?

Mrs. PATTON. I work for the Postal Service.
Mr. GAYDOS. How long?

Mrs. PATTON. I have been with them 3 years.

Mr. GAYDOS. Was the nature of that call relating to an accident or to an injury?

Mrs. PATTON. Yes, sir. To give you background on that, the original injury occurred July 7 of 1976. I was out of work until August 6, 1976. As we are a Government agency we have the 45 days, which I did not use, so I received regular pay from the Postal Service. In November, the 13th to be exact, of 1976 the same problem arose again. The injury was a shoulder and neck injury related to possible disc in my neck from lifting. I am a window clerk, and we handle up to 70 pounds of weight, and we are expected to deal with that, and that is how the injury occurred. On December 11, my 45 days ran out, they continued it, picked it up from when I was returned to work on the 5th of August, and it ran out on the 11th of December, and that is when the compensation was supposed to go into effect. I was told by my supervisors that they should pick that up and within, say, 3 weeks I should start receiving checks; give them the 3 weeks to get things in order. At my office my supervisor did fill out the proper forms. Initially a Postal Service physician examined me, when I was originally out. On December 11 I chose to go to a private physician at the National Orthopedic Hospital, a Dr. Albrigo, because I felt the problem had never been solved really. I was still having some problems with it so I went to a physician, supposedly one of the best in the area. His references were given to us.

The first inquiry was made on the 6th of January, and we called the Office of Workers Compensation. They told us that the file was not there yet; they had not received any information. On the 26th we called. We had a case number at this time. I will give you my case number. A2593942 was my case number.

Mr. GAYDOS. Do we have written authority from you to enable the committee to receive complete documentation of your case for our perusal and information?

Mrs. PATTON. You certainly may. I will be glad to give that to

you.

Mr. GAYDOS. We will have sufficient forms prepared for you ladies to execute so that we comply with the legal requirements. Go ahead. I am very sorry to interrupt.

Mrs. PATTON. That is all right.

On the 26th of January I called the office. A Mrs. Nukirk returned the call and informed me that a problem existed with the Form CA-7. This is one of approximately 4 phone calls that were ever returned out of approximately 60 that were made. On the 31st of January I mailed a corrected CA-7 as she had directed me.

On February 7 I wrote to Congressman Harris, seeking his assistance. May I remind you this is a summary. A lot went on in between those dates. I am just reading the high points of my case. Mr. GAYDOS. Is it safe to say a lot of frustration occurred during those days?

Mrs. PATTON. Very much so.

On February 10, after 30 days, eight phone calls, and one letter to Congressman Harris, I received the first and only workmen's compensation check I got.

On the 26th I wrote to Congressman Harris again seeking his assistance. I was out additional time and I knew, or felt that the Compensation owed me additional money, but I could not even get anyone to return a call. I would call, give my case number, and one of three excuses were used every time I called. They were either at lunch, in a meeting, or they hadn't come in yet, the same three constantly.

May 9, after 13 phone calls a Mrs. Harried called from the OWC stating that she could not locate my file at all. It is at this point I don't even know where my file is.

On May 10 I called OWC giving all pertinent dates all over again, and requesting someone please return my call. I gave the dates of injury, the form numbers that had been sent in that my supervisor had submitted, and to this date no call has been made to me, and I assume that my file is still lost. I don't really know.

Mr. GAYDOS. When did you go back to work?

Mrs. PATTON. The 25th of February.

Mr. GAYDOS. How much time from the 45-day period until you reported back to work elapsed?

Mrs. PATTON. From December 11 to February 25.

Mr. GAYDOS. And you only received one check?

Mrs. PATTON. One check, yes, sir.

Mr. GAYDOS. What has been the last response from the department as far as your last inquiry as to whether or not you are going to receive the check? What did they tell you? That they are working on it?

Mrs. PATTON. The last inquiry or information I received was through Congressman Harris's office, and the Acting Director, Mr. Jennings, stated that they were looking into my case again. Mr. GAYDOS. Are they still looking into it?

Mrs. PATTON. Yes, sir; I assume.

Mr. GAYDOS. How long did you work for the Government?

Mrs. PATTON. I worked here in Congress for Congressman Dorn for approximately 8 months when I was here, and when Congressman Dorn ran for Governor I then transferred, got a job with the Postal Service, and I have been there three years.

Mr. GAYDOS. Have you had any prior claims for injury with the Federal Government?

Mrs. PATTON. Yes, sir; I had one prior claim. I was a letter carrier for a year with the Postal Service. I injured my knee during the snow and ice of 1975, I believe it was, or 1974. I am not positive about that. But I only received 2 compensation checks and was out approximately 30 days over the 45. It was a cartilage problem with my knee, and I was either facing surgery or getting a different job with the Postal Service, and I did transfer inside.

Mr. GAYDOS. How were your medical bills taken care of when you went to the doctor? Were they taken care of properly? Did you have to advance money like your co-witness had to?

Mrs. PATTON. No. The injury sustained when I was a letter carrier, I had no problems whatsoever. The first check took approximately a month to get, and then after that I got the next one within two weeks, and that was it.

Mr. GAYDOS. And you are back to work?

Mrs. PATTON. Yes.

As far as the medical bills in my case, with the Postal Service all I had to do was turn my bill in from the physician and they took care of it. I don't know who they dealt with, but it was taken care of for me.

Mr. GAYDOS. Did you also find the rules and regulations or procedures confusing? Did you find difficulty in filling out forms? Mrs. PATTON. In my case, no, sir; I would say my supervisor told me and informed me of all the proper things to do. They have to fill out an accident report with the Postal Service and at that time you give all pertinent dates, time, what happened, et cetera, and they send you immediately to a physician that is employed by the Postal Service. From that point I filled out the forms that were given me. The CA-7 and 8 I think are the most common forms used and they are not that difficult.

Mr. GAYDOS. Mr. Sarasin.

Mr. SARASIN. Were you given a pamphlet or any instruction to direct you-

Mrs. PATTON. No, sir, I was not given any pamphlets at all concerning this information. Like I said, my supervisor sat down with me at that time and filled out the accident report and I went to the doctor as instructed. The doctor is employed with the Postal Service in that he takes care of injured employees on the job. That is not all he does, but he will accept the people who are injured on the job and these physicians know the proper paperwork to fill out and, therefore, I didn't experience any problems with that.

Mr. SARASIN. You didn't make a claim with Blue Cross or Blue Shield?

Mrs. PATTON. No, sir.

Mr. SARASIN. Thank you very much.