Perhaps we refer to it when using a chain to tow another vehicle, or to pull something or someone up from a deep ravine; and it is always the weak link that leads to the sudden collapse and failure.
We can apply the term in a metaphorical sense for other contexts, as well. In a movie or play, there are “weak links” — of supportive roles, or perhaps even in referring to the main actor, that fails to deliver the expected performance necessary to brings about a box-office hit; or of a technologically-based company that provides a specific product, but somewhere down the line of the assembly or production process, a “weak link” is discovered which results in the failure of the product.
Air bags that fail to deploy properly; a member of a platoon who doesn’t “carry his weight”; a memory chip that erases critical information — all “weak links” within an aggregation of human activity.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, there can be many “weak links”. Perhaps your Federal Agency or Postal facility looks upon you as the “weak link” and thus proceeds to engage in a campaign of harassment and initiation of adverse actions to get rid of you.
You may need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. And when you do, you yourself must make sure that there are no “weak links” in the preparation and submission of your OPM Disability Retirement application.
Consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and limit the number of “weak links” in order to give yourself the best chance possible. For, in the end, it is always the “weak links” that come back to haunt.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 