On the desk of one of the Circuit Court clerks, in an adjacent county, is a sign which reads: “The fact that you waited until today does not make it into my emergency.” Those who stand in line to file an emergency pleading, either try to ignore the prominently-displayed sign, or hope that some other clerk will attend to his or her needs. Yet, we all know that there are times when, for one reason or another — the year passed so quickly; the medical reports which we expected months ago just arrived; “life happened” and the 1-year mark for filing for disability retirement is upon us — we have a couple of weeks, or perhaps a week, or perhaps only a couple of days, to file for Federal disability retirement benefits.
When such an emergency filing becomes necessary, three things must happen: First, the three essential forms must be quickly filled out (whether they are adequately and sufficiently filled out is another matter — but just remember that if you don’t at least meet the 1-year statute of limitations for filing for Federal disability retirement benefits, you are left with no argument at all; whereas, at least by filling out the forms and filing, regardless of their adequacy or completeness, you can at least argue later that it meant x or y). Those three (3) forms are: SF 3107 Application for Immediate Retirement for FERS; SF 2801 for CSRS; Schedules A, B & C for FERS & CSRS; and SF 3112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability for FERS & CSRS. Second, fax the three completed forms to Boyers, PA, and Express Mail or FedEx it (and get a fax confirmation sheet); and Third, follow up with a phone call to Boyers to get the name of the person who will confirm that he/she received the fax.
Every now and then, “life happens”, and emergency filings are necessary. In a perfect world, such emergencies should be unnecessary; and while the clerk in the Circuit Court in an adjacent county might look with disgust upon the lawyer or pro-se individual attempting to file an “emergency” pleading, whether it is his emergency, her emergency, or someone else’s fault, the fact still remains: It needs to be filed on time.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application, OPM Disability Application - SF 3112 Disability Retirement Application Package | Tagged: 1-year OPM disability rule, Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS, Applicant's Statement of Disability for FERS, applying for federal disability, B & C for CSRS, B & C for FERS, Circuit Court clerk, civil service disability, CSRS Retirement Application SF-2801, disability retirement at the USPS, emergency filing, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, federal disability attorney's advice, federal employee disability benefits, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement application, One-Year Statutory Timeframe, OPM disability attorney, OPM disability Statute of Limitations, OPM First Stage Disability Application, Post Office disability, resources for injured federal workers, Schedules A, SF 3107 Application for Immediate Retirement for FERS, SF 3112A, the three essential forms, timing questions, USPS Disability, USPS disability retirement benefits, Workers Comp disability |
OPM Disability Retirement 
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