The question itself is obviously the starting point; however, whether answering the question is enough, presents a greater problem.
In any arena of law, the wider context of legal requirements will include the statutory authority upon which regulations and standard governmental forms are based upon; then, there are case-law opinions of judges — in the area of Federal Disability Retirement, this would include the administrative opinions of the Merit Systems Protection Board, both at the Hearing level, as well as from a Petition for Full Review; and further, Court opinions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, one must obviously complete multiple Standard Forms. Chief among the forms is the “Applicant’s Statement of Disability“, or otherwise identified as SF 3112A. There are multiple questions requesting information about one’s medical condition and the impact upon one’s ability/inability to perform the essential elements of one’s job. The questions may seem straightforward enough; the answers can be; but the greater conundrum is whether completion of answers to such questions will be adequate in proving, by a preponderance of the evidence (which is the legal standard in meeting the adequacy of proof in a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether under FERS or CSRS) one’s eligibility for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
It is precisely because there is a greater context of legal expansion in the laws governing Federal Disability Retirement, that merely answering the questions represents a beginning point. In other words, we meet head-on the age-old distinction between that which is necessary, as opposed to what constitutes sufficiency in order to satisfy the criteria.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application - SF 3112A Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS and FERS | Tagged: an essential tip for 3112a filling: keep in mind the requirements, being truthful but being careful in what you say, case laws and regulations that the federal disability retirement forms won't explain, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, disability insurance for postal and federal employees, explaining how your condition affects your work in the federal workplace, Federal Disability, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement, federal disability retirement case-laws, federal disability retirement is much more than just form filling, FERS disability retirement, fers disability retirement forms, FERS medical retirement, filling opm disability retirement forms, filling out an application form versus getting disability benefits, hiring form-filling-out lawyer versus a top mspb trial attorney, nationwide representation of federal employees, not just filling the form out but what you are saying in the fers disability form, not what medical conditions but explaining how it affects your federal job, OPM disability retirement, planning an opm disability strategy that goes beyond form filling, Postal disability, representing federal employees from any us government agency, statements of disability during the opm disability process, the context of your medical condition in the applicant's statements of disability, the opinion of judges in cases similar to yours are not explained in the federal disability retirement forms, Tips and tricks for the filling out the Applicant's Statement of Disability, USPS disability retirement, what do I need to do to get my fers disability application approved?, when the traditional application form-filling strategy is not a strategy at all, when you answer the questions in the fers disability forms, why answering the questions of the applicant's statement of disability is only the beginning |
Leave a Reply