There is, of course, the “psychology” of the process of filing for disability retirement benefits. The term itself (psychology, psychological) is all too often misused. All that is meant in this context is that, at each stage of the process (the initial application stage; the Second, Reconsideration Stage; the Third, Merit Systems Protection Board Stage; the fourth & fifth stages of an appeal, either for a Petition for Full Review or an appeal to the Federal Circuit, or sequentially), the applicant should have a general idea of the level of people the Applicant is dealing with. Thus, for example, at the initial stage of the process, one should not expect the OPM Representative to be fully conversant in the law; whereas, if the case gets to the Merit Systems Protection Board Stage, the OPM representative is fairly well-versed in multiple aspects of the laws governing disability retirement. Additionally, the level of medical knowledge varies from one OPM representative to the next. This is not to say that each stage of the process requires a greater level of intellectual input or information; nor does it mean that each stage should be “tailored” based upon the expected level of competence. Rather, an awareness of what to expect, how to respond, and what level of intellectual responsiveness are all necessary ingredients in preparing and filing a successful disability retirement application. In short, it is important to know the “psychology” of it all.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The OPM Representatives, OPM Disability Process, Pre-Application Considerations | Tagged: applying for disability with opm, csrs psychological disability, disability laws for postal workers, disability retirement post office, eligible for disability retirement fers, examining the basis for the denial, federal employee medical retirement, federal usps retirement disability, federal workers disability criteria, fers psychological disability, going through the disability retirement process, Initial Stage of the OPM disability process, interpretation of federal disability law, lawyer representing postal workers, letter carriers disability retirement, mail carrier injury on the job, medical fers retirement, Merit Systems Protection Board Stage, MSPB, MSPB Reconsideration Stage, opm disability retirement process, OPM First Stage Disability Application, OPM lawyer, OPM Reconsideration Stage, OPM Representative, Petition for Full Review at the MSPB, postal workers owcp rights attorney, qualifying for federal disability retirement, reasonable medical determination, the administrative process to get medical disability, the approval process for opm disability retirement, The OPM, time/process issues in OPM disability retirement, understanding each stage of the OPM disability retirement process, us postal service merit protection board, usps fers retirement, work-related injury |
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