A Local 768 member is back at work – and nearly $70,000 richer – after an arbitrator ordered the Sanitation Dept. to cancel her firing and repay the salary she lost.

“I am so happy to be back,” said Isa Cortada, a Compliance Officer.

“It was hard, but I managed,” she said, describing her 32 months out of work as her case moved through the grievance process and wound up in arbitration. “I worked a little bit and had unemployment and savings. What helped most of all was the support of my family and friends.”

The department fired Ms. Cortada in October 1997 after accusing her of altering a medical note to extend her absence from work.

But Leonard A. Shrier, the attorney who handled her arbitration, convinced Arbitrator Elaine P. Mills that the department failed to substantiate the charge.

When she sought the extension from her doctor, Ms. Cortada testified that she spoke to a clerical worker who returned 10 minutes later with an envelope with a note. Several days after she presented the envelope at work, management charged that Ms. Cortada had altered the date of the note.

“More proof is required, when the charge is fraud and the consequence is dismissal after many years of employment,” Ms. Mill said in her decision.

The arbitrator said evidence for a firing “should be based upon a fair and reasonable inquiry or investigation of the alleged wrongdoing,” she stated. “Such an investigation is absent.”

Neither the city nor the union disputed that the date was altered. But, as Ms. Mills noted, the alteration was “so blatant that even a child would see it immediately.” She added, “That the note has been altered, however, is no proof that grievant altered it, or — even if she did — that the alteration was fraudulent.”

Local 768 President Helen Greene praised Ms. Cortada for her patience and persistence in the case.

“You can imagine how stressful it is to face being dismissed from a job that you’ve had for more than 10 years,” Ms. Greene. “But Isa refused to back down, and she helped Lenny Shrier and the union develop the background for the argument to win her job back. We’re very happy for her.”

Former DC 37 Rep Nola R. Brooker, who now works as an assistant director in the Research and Negotiations Dept., and Grievance Rep. Darryl Ramsey also worked on the case. Right now, the union is battling the Sanitation Dept. over its refusal to give Ms. Cortada credit for her annual and sick leave while she was out of work.

“You have to be careful with everything, working for the city,” said Ms. Cortada. She said her experience taught her the value of keeping a paper trail about matters that could affect her employment. “One error can cost you a lot.”

After making some short-term investments and getting her finances in order, she said she hopes to use the back pay to purchase a home.