Jean Stroemel has spent the past 12 years making sure the skies were clear and safe for airline passengers out of Miami International Airport.
Now, she says she is getting grounded by her bosses at the FAA after she injured herself on the job.
Stroemel hasn’t been paid in three months and was removed from her job as the person who made sure the radar system that air traffic controllers use to manage flights stayed up and running.
Stroemel said she made around $90,000 a year.
Last summer, Stroemel fell at work and had a mild stroke. She asked to be trained in another job because her condition would not allow her to deal with the sensitive equipment controlling the Miami area’s air traffic control system.
Instead, the FAA placed her on unpaid leave, which puts her in a precarious situation between federal and state agencies.
The feds aren’t paying and she can’t collect unemployment from the state because officials said she requested the leave and is still technically employed by the FAA.
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"Ms. Stroemel has not been dismissed from the FAA. She is an FAA employee on leave status,” an FAA statement on the issue said Friday. “Employee privacy rights prevent the FAA from discussing this matter further.”
A letter from the FAA indicated the agency tried to find an administrative job or one in another career field but was unable.
As government agencies attempt to sort through the matter, Stroemel said she is running out of money. She is trying to hold out until she can collect disability in late October.
