Postal & Federal Medical Retirement: The Commodity of More

Of course, by definition, a commodity purchased or otherwise acquired is “more” — but that is not what is meant, here.  The commodity of more implies a greater good beyond the acquisition of the thing itself.  We buy things not for the thing itself; rather, we are sold the goods because of what they represent.  Otherwise, why do companies spend so much on advertising?

If the thing itself is so valuable and needed — or wanted — to such a great extent that it would sell without the “extras” of advertisements, then companies would merely place them on shelves and each morning, like the breadlines in the old Soviet Union, there would be a great clamor to purchase the product.

No — the products we buy are attached to the symbols they represent; of greater status; of more leisure; of increased comfort and superior lifestyle; of a life representing success.  But here is the catch: The commodity of more is like that proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back; at some point, the “more” becomes the greater stress that makes everything less — less worthwhile, less attractive; less enjoyable.  Especially when a medical condition enters the picture-perfect portrait of life.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits when the commodity of more has reached a breaking point.

Consult with a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not the commodity of more might not be traded in for a life of less — less stress, less failure, less deterioration of one’s health.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Stress and the Hectic Life

Most of us have little choice in the matter.  There are, of course, those very few who have the opportunity to control the pace of life — the Royal Family, perhaps, who can have servants and butlers, cooks and maids perform all of the “chores”, allowing for greater leisure time and reflective postures of contemplative living.

Wealth has always been a component of leisure; yet, the self-contradiction is evident all around us: It is the pursuit of wealth which is the obsession of modernity; wealth is allegedly pursued in order to have a life of leisure; and yet the pursuit itself is what creates the hectic life and the stresses we live in.

That is also the advertising gambit, is it not?  Almost every product sells the commodity of the “better life” — that X-product will save you time; Y-product will make you “feel” more peaceful, more powerful, more whatever.  That which we pursue to escape is the very basis of our self-immolation; that is the rule of modernity.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits may not get rid of — entirely — the stress and the hectic life.  However, as medical conditions are often the greatest stressor in life, to at least alleviate the hectic part of your life by allowing you to retire on disability and give you more time to focus upon your health — well, at least it is a start.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to reduce the stresses in an otherwise hectic life we seem caught up in.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Staying the Course

Sometimes, such a strategy can lead to success.  Despite facing obstacles or criticism, the strategic decision to remain steady and unwavering from one’s original plan can successfully result in meeting the original objective or goal.  More often than not, however, a slight variation deviating from such a decision to “stay the course” when some sense of adaptation and malleability is called for, is the better methodology to adopt.

“Staying the Course” is allegedly a showing of dedication to purpose, an unwavering capacity to ignore criticism and a steadiness of deliberation.  It can also reveal a stubbornness of stupidity.  For, when circumstances call for a change in course, ignoring such circumstances has resulted in great historical tragedies.  Great battles have been won and lost because of a leader’s inability to adapt to changing circumstances, or its opposite in waging the better fight because of an acuity of mind in viewing the need for such adaptation.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who have been “staying the course” in the face of a debilitating medical condition, it is certainly an admirable trait if you are able to stay the course.  However, if there comes a time when the medical condition is no longer compatible with being able to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, you may want to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

To do so, you should contact a FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer and see whether or not “staying the course” might benefit from another oft-used phrase — that of thinking “outside of the box”.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement: Form-filling

There are the two sets of Standard Forms in a Federal Disability Retirement Application: The SF 3107 series, and the SF 3112 series.  Both are necessary in order to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  The first set (SF 3107) merely requests basic information throughout the multiple pages — i.e., name, address, organization, date of birth, social security number, questions on life & health insurance, etc., as well as certifying the summary of your entire federal service, etc.

It is the second set of forms (SF 3112) which is specifically pertinent to the Federal Disability Retirement process — questions involving your medical conditions (beware of what and how to list them); what impact the medical conditions have upon the Federal or Postal job that you do (the need for establishing a “nexus” between the two); as well as any accommodation efforts provided by your agency (know what the term “accommodation” as a legally viable attempt constitutes, for many people are confused about the issue).

Ultimately, Federal Disability Retirement is far more than mere form-filling; for, most anyone can fill out the first set of forms (SF 3107 series); it is the second set (SF 3112 series) which inherently sets out the basis of a viable Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Early Retirement for Federal Employees with Disabilities: Persuasion

Can the written word persuade?  Can “passion” be elicited by a series of letters, dots, crossing “t’s” and other such grammatical nuances?

Certainly, when language is spoken, we often hear discussions about the “passionate” delivery, or the fact that the speaker was “fiery”, a “true believer”, or even “inspiring”, etc.  Somehow, and for whatever reasons, we attach the emotional component of a speaker’s voice with the persuasive force of sincerity upon the words themselves.  Can it ever be “faked”?

We are too often too naive to think not; and that, of course, is what the con-man and the counterfeiter is banking upon.  Persuasion offered by an impassioned voice is much easier than the power of the written word; for, articulated with the right barometer of a voice’s pitch, it tugs at one’s hearts and confuses the otherwise skeptical mind.  A paper presentation must persuade through the force of logical argumentation; for, there exists no voice of passionate conveyance to do otherwise.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal of Postal job, filing a Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management must by necessity be a paper-presentation to OPM.  To be persuasive is thus doubly-difficult, as you must make sure that all of your arguments are articulated with soundness of reasoning and forceful in their legal relevance.

Consult with a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make sure that your method of persuasion matches the substantive weight of you circumstances.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee’s Medical Retirement: A Perspective on Truth

The traditional philosophical arguments surrounding the nature of Truth, the “battle” between “Absolute Truth” and “Pure Relativism”, etc., are too often simplified and reduced to sloganeering and shouting matches which end up being nothing more than accusations as to whether one believes in a Higher Order of Being — or not.  Yet, it is often a perspective upon appearances which determines the “truth” of a statement.

Plato pointed this out in reference to the three towers in the distance; if seen from one direction, they appear to be only one; if seen from another, they constitute 3 distinct objects.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in denying a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, takes a similar perspective on truth.  They will take each medical condition cited, isolate each and minimize the impact of the separated medical conditions upon one’s ability or inability to perform the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position, and by approaching the “truth” this way, can purport to make your case appear “as if” you never had any case at all.

Now, some might critically argue that such an approach is “disingenuous” (i.e., somewhat akin to the “absolutist” argument), while others merely view this as “clever” (i.e., akin to the “relativists”).  The point of OPM’s approach is to make you believe that you never had a chance to begin with, and to have you go away without filing for Reconsideration, thus reducing their caseload by a numerical insignificance until multiplied by an exponential factor of greater percentages.

The way to counter OPM’s argument?  To identify their approach and counter it with a different, more powerful perspective on truth — by further medical documentation and more powerful legal argumentation which makes OPM’s argument impotent and irrelevant.

For, in the end, a perspective on truth must be countered by proposing an alternative perspective on truth — of showing that the three-towers-in-one is a mere illusion and a trick of the eye.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: Of History Unknown

Many of us consider ourselves to be “history buffs” — we are proud that we can accurately recite the beginning dates and end-dates of major wars; of knowing the primary principals of each; of the sequence of Presidents; of who was shot and by whom; of when Fort Sumter was fired upon; of the day that Wall Street crashed, etc.

Dates are important to us; they provide a context for our present circumstances.  Yet, history is also about individual lives — often lost in the anonymity of greater events, and few of us have the imagination to appreciate how previous lives were lived — of not having indoor plumbing; of getting water from a well; of not having a refrigerator; of being so poverty-stricken that death by famine was often a perennial cycle of acceptance.

Other people, and other lives we barely even know or consider.  We barely know our next door neighbor, and yet we pride ourselves in accurately reciting authors from esoteric works of history.  Of the history unknown, they remain a mystery.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who have a sense that your contribution to the Federal Agency is somewhat akin to the history unknown — of relevance no longer appreciated and work left unappreciated — it may be time to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  You medical condition has essentially rendered you a “non-person”.  You are no longer a member of the “mission team”.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider fading away with a Federal Disability annuity by joining the multitude of the History Unknown — or as General MacArthur once said, “Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away.”  And so for the history buffs: Where did he say it and in what year?

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement from Civil Service: The Unendurable Turmoil

Perhaps (and thankfully) for most, there does not exist one.  Turmoils are a part of everyday life.  Most are endured; some small numbers of them are actual “emergencies” which require urgent attention, but for the most part, life is a series of upheavals which has to be endured.

There comes, however, every now and again, an unendurable turmoil — a circumstance of such immense importance and of great impact such that it seems to be unendurable.  It is the moment during or just after a crisis; a recognition that things simply cannot go on like they have; a “breaking point” where something must give.  That point prior to the explosion or where the dam suddenly breaks and the massive flood of life’s fears begins, is the pressure point where help must be sought, attention must be obtained, advice must be acquired.

Medical conditions can bring a person to such a crisis point — especially where the intersection of work, family, pain and fear all aggregate and come to a “head”.  For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, don’t allow for your particular situation to culminate to a point where it becomes an unendurable turmoil.

Instead, consult with an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer and get some advice.  Such advice from a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer may be that proverbial last straw before it is placed on the camel’s back which prevents the situation from becoming the unendurable turmoil.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Future Uncertainty

Is it redundant to place the two terms together?  Doesn’t “uncertainty” by definition encapsulate an assumption of the future?  For, whatever is occurring in the present is an established fact; that which is in the past, already solidified as a certainty precisely because it has already passed and cannot be changed — the very definition of “certainty”.  Yet, there is something necessary in ascribing uncertainty to the future; for, it provides a perspective, a chasm, a “chance” to correct the gap of lacking solidity; it allows us to act.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition where the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it is the uncertainty of the future which is often what one is unable to bear.  Will I be terminated?  What will happen to my years of service?  What if I don’t qualify for OPM Disability Retirement?

Contact a FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer and see whether or not some modicum of certainty can be asserted from a universe replete with future uncertainty.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement: The Interrupted Cadence

We all have a cadence which we follow; the morning routine; the afternoon lull; the evening monotony of every day actions, repeated each day, day after day.  And so the march of life goes on, with a familiar cadence throughout, rarely uninterrupted, and allowing for sanity to perform the subconscious acts throughout each and every day.  For, if every day were to lack the cadence of the previous day, chaos would prevail and the anarchy of life’s problems would be the only force which would dominate.

We like music which possesses an inherently consistent beat.  Instruments placed together and playing without regard to one another merely produce sounds of shrieking discordance.  “Music”, indeed, is different from mere sounds blaring at the same time, and the cadence of the day is like music to one’s ear: It is pleasant, reliable, and dependable.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to continue in your career with the Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service, the fact that your cadence of life has been interrupted is problematic enough; to be denied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for a benefit you deserve — a Federal Disability Retirement annuity — adds insult to injury.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and see whether we can restore the interrupted cadence of life by reversing OPM’s denial of a Federal Employee Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire