In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is often easy to confuse the varying roles of the individual and agency entities which are involved in the process.
First and foremost, the Agency for which the individual works, has certain administrative obligations which must be met — of completing certain forms, such as the Supervisor’s Statement (SF 3112B) and the Agency Efforts for Reassignment and Accommodation (SF 3112D). The Office of Personnel Management, on the other hand, is the ultimate arbiter and deciding entity determining the viability of a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether under FERS or CSRS, as to meeting the legal criteria for eligibility for the benefit.
The agency cannot make promises to the Federal employee, or the Postal employee (if the case happens to be the U.S. Postal Service), as to “getting” the individual Federal employee or Postal employee, a Federal Disability Retirement.
There can certainly be actions taken by the agency, or the representative of the agency, which may help to “enhance” the chances of an approval of a Federal Disability Retirement. However, enhancing the chances of an approval is quite different from promising to “give” or to “get” a Federal or Postal employee a Federal Disability Retirement from the Office of Personnel Management. Only the latter entity can accomplish that.
As for any promises by the agency that “he said X” or “he promised Y” — get it in writing. It may only be worth the paper it is written on, but at least by asking, you can determine the truth or falsity of such a promise.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Agency | Tagged: agency's influence in disability retirement, agency's influence versus power to grant opm disability, agency's limited function during the fers disability process, arbitration in cases of postal disability retirement, denial of federal employee disability retirement, disability retirement for federal employees, empty promises for disabled federal workers, Federal Disability, federal disability retirement, federal supervisor response to employee work injury, FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement Blog, fers disability questions, FERS disability retirement, how do I get disability from postal service?, how much can a fed employer influence the fers disability application?, if the agency can promise opm disability approval, nationwide representation of federal employees, not an automatic federal disability retirement under the usps nrp, OPM disability retirement, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, postal service disability retirement, Standard Form 3112D, the influence of the agency in an fers disability claim is minimal, the limited role the agency plays in the federal disability retirement process, the postal service's influence on disability matters through the sf 3112d, the postal supervisor and the sf 3112b, USPS disability retirement benefits, what agency approves disability retirement for federal employees?, when the federal agency promises early medical retirement, when the post service ''retires'' you on medical grounds, who decides who will get early medical retirement in the federal government? |
Leave a Reply