OPM silently trolls the Internet. You may not think that such activity poses a risk to you, but you should be fully aware of it. By “troll” is not meant to include posting inflammatory remarks or initiating controversial discussions on the Web; rather, they silently and quietly view any postings and activities you may be involved in. They will “spy” on your activities and use what is online as an argument to try and undermine and deny your Federal Disability Retirement application.
Thus, if you are a Postal worker, for example, and claim that you are unable to perform your physical duties as a Letter Carrier, Mail Handler, etc., but you have an Internet Web Page which claims that you are physically fit, a Facebook photo that shows you running a marathon, or a business that involves physical labor, etc., they will use your own postings against you. Or, perhaps you are a Federal employee who can no longer perform a cognitive-intensive job, but have an Internet-based business as a consulting firm, or some similar work requiring cognitive-intensive work. Guess what? OPM may use that against you.
Of course, claims made on the Internet can be quite misleading. For example, you may be a partner for an Internet-based business in “name only” — meaning that all of the work is done by a sibling or a close friend. Or, it may be that the “self-pacing” element of running your own business is what allows you to have such an Internet-based business. However, be that as it may, you should be aware that OPM is the Silent Troll who collects such information for a singular purpose: To deny your Federal Disability Retirement application.
Consult with a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to safeguard a benefit which is your right to assert.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 