Julie Bystrom, former assistant to the director of the Santa Fe (N.Mex.) Public Library, is seeking workers compensation for health problems she says came from working near mold at the main library.
After employees had claimed for years that the building was making them sick, the library closed in August 2001 when a contractor found evidence of mold contamination. The library reopened April 1 after a $1.2-million cleanup and renovation.
Bystrom, who now works as a career coordinator at Santa Fe High School, said chronic fatigue and upper-respiratory-tract and memory problems from the exposure caused her “temporary total disability” and “permanent partial disability.” After working at the library for almost nine years, Bystrom had to take four months’ leave because of her health problems; when she returned, she was told there was no place for her to work and was sent home without pay, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported August 3.
A letter from the city’s former attorney in the case said Bystrom’s “exposure to mold and fungi, if that is what caused her problems, is not the result of a distinctive feature of her work” and that “her claims are not compensable under the Occupational Disease Disablement Law.”
A hearing on Bystrom’s claim, which was filed two years ago, concluded August 2, and a ruling is expected in mid-October.
Posted August 19, 2002.