In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is necessary — first and foremost — to understand that the benefit of Federal Disability Retirement is not an “entitlement” under any definition of the word; there is no automatic triggering mechanism by which a Federal or Postal employee becomes a Federal Disability Annuitant, unless one proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one has met all of the eligibility requirements necessary to obtain the benefit.
Further, while the standard of proof established by statute is a relatively low one in comparison to others (i.e., “preponderance of the evidence” merely requires that the truth of X is more likely than not, as opposed to other, more onerous standard of proof, such as “beyond a reasonable doubt” or “clear and convincing”, etc.), nevertheless, the mere assertion of a statement of facts will not qualify the Federal or Postal employee for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
A standard — or “burden of proof” — means exactly that: One must prove it, and proof requires more than the mere assertion that X is so. Specifically, in an OPM Disability Retirement application, one must prove that one is medically unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position, and in order to meet that burden, medical documentation of a sufficient and persuasive nature must be submitted along with a Federal Disability Retirement application, which includes many Standard governmental forms.
Knowing and recognizing the conceptual distinction between asserting X and proving X is an important first step in preparing, formulating, and successfully filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Theory and Practice: Tips and Strategies for a Successful Application | Tagged: applicant preponderance of evidence burden in federal employees, asserting versus proving a federal disability retirement case, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, disability retirement and opm standard of review, essential elements of jobs, Federal Disability, federal disability retirement, federal disability retirement is not an automatic entitlement, fers disability benefits are not automatic entitlements, FERS disability retirement, fers disability retirement and the burden of proof concept, if mentioning facts alone will prove the truth about your medical condition, legal representation for injured federal workers, meeting the burden of eligibility requirements for medical retirement under fers, mentioning facts alone are not enough to win a federal disability retirement case, myths vs. facts about federal opm retirement benefits, opm disability law and the preponderance of evidence concept, OPM disability retirement, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, preponderance of the evidence concept in fers disability law, preponderance of the evidence documents, proving you are eligible to medically retire from the federal government, standard of proof applicable to opm disability retirement, standard of proof concept in federal disability retirement, stating facts versus proving a fers disability retirement case, the most complete blog on federal disability retirement, the process of approving a federal medical retirement application, tips for proving your federal disability retirement eligibility, usps disability blog, USPS disability retirement, what "standard of proof" applies to fers disability retirement |
OPM Disability Retirement 
Leave a Reply