Federal Employee’s Medical Retirement Programs: Propriety of Sequence

Propriety is not a concept which is much discussed, anymore.  That which is socially or morally “proper” has been discarded, precisely because convention is no longer accepted as a standard to follow.  But when the consistent pursuance of the opposite of X becomes the acceptable standard, does it not then become the convention itself?

Further, some levels of propriety follow upon the thoughtful order of things, and are imposed not because they are artificial societal creations mandated through a history of traditions; rather, it is so because of common sense.  For example, while having a urinal right beside each table in a restaurant may be the most naturally convenient place for utilitarian purposes, the propriety of such placement defies the convention of modesty and privacy concerns; and so it goes.

Sequential propriety is often the best example of logically-imposed events, and failing to follow the linear approach may have unforeseen consequences erupting with problems down the road.  Thus, teaching a child to stop, look, listen — then to cross the road, is both logical, of utility, and linear, with a rational foundation for following upon the sequence of actions.

For Federal and Postal employees contemplating the preparation of a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, the propriety of sequential formulation of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application is important before proceeding. When should the Federal or Postal employee’s Statement of Disability be prepared? When should the Supervisor be approached to complete the Supervisor’s Statement? What should be the sequence and priority of listing of the medical conditions which make up the core of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application?

Sequence of propriety is often a combination of naturally-imposed events, as well as logically sound determinations.  Throwing out convention is fine for the unthinking; but there have been many a thoughtless child who, like the symbolism in the well-known story of Holden Caulfield, comes too near the edge of a cliff in a field of rye to deserve comfort of thought and actions.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: Striving for an Unobtrusive Life of Quietude

When first entering the adversarial universe of trial lawyers, a kindly but seasoned opposition who easily made foolish mincemeat out of the flustered composite of inexperience and youthful exuberance, but later approached to compliment the young whippersnapper to give some sagely advice: “You have a yellow pad. That is good. You kept looking down at it as if it was a security blanket. That is revealing”.

Whenever I see a man with a roadmap, and it is my job to disrupt the travel route from Point A to Point Z, it makes my job easier to make the opposition take some circuitous routes to force the journeying adversary onto more interesting pathways, to make him take in the sights and travel in a zig-zag manner, rather than in the straight line he desires to take. Point taken.

Revealing too much can have the negative effect of allowing the opposition to know one’s travel route; and if the purpose of one’s mission is to make miserable any goal-tending individual and preventing him or her from attaining a life of unobtrusive quietude (as is often the superficial purpose in life of Supervisors, Managers and other minor dictators who control multiple miniature fiefdoms throughout the Federal and Postal Sectors of employment), then providing an insight into one’s itinerary is like posting a copy of the newly discovered treasure map on Facebook and expecting secrecy because you clicked on a few privacy settings.

It is, indeed, a sad world in which we live; for, if the goal of most is merely to attain an unobtrusive life of quietude, the minimalism of expectation is for each to respect the privacy-space of one another. But perhaps that is asking too much of humanity.

For Federal and Postal employees, whether under FERS or CSRS, who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition has interrupted the unobtrusive life of quietude, filing for FERS Disability Retirement benefits through one’s agency (if one is not yet separated from Federal Service, or has been but still within 31 days of such separation) is the administrative requirement. If separated for more than 31 days, then the Federal Disability Retirement application needs to be filed directly with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In either event, of course, all Federal Disability Retirement applications end up at OPM.  But in so doing, timing, the extent of any prefatory information to be revealed to the agency; to whom; for what purpose; and the ultimate question: When? These are all questions and concerns which must be dealt with in a sensitive, thoughtful manner, and particularized to each situation.

Mapping out a strategy on the proverbial yellow pad is an intelligent approach to take; providing a copy of what one has prepared, to whom, when, and to what extent, will determine whether one’s journey is an unobtrusive straight line from point A to point B, or a zig-zagging line of confusions beset with multiple points of disquietude.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Disability Retirement: The Fallacy of Incremental Procrastination

It will be just another week; or perhaps a month; by the end of six weeks, it will all be resolved.  But the insidious nature of incrementalism is precisely in the cumulative loss from a retrospective viewpoint.  Time comes in ticking seconds; ticking seconds accumulate into a bundle of minutes; and bundles become stacked into hours, days, months — and years.

Waiting on a decision by the Department of Labor for OWCP benefits may be a perfectly acceptable route to take; but then, there are horror stories of delays in approving a simple MRI, leaving aside expectations for getting an approval for a needed surgery or other lesser medical procedure.

While hope may be in things sought for but yet unseen, it is the cumulative nature of time lost which, from a retrospective view, reveals the insidious fallacy of incremental procrastination.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, concurrently with filing for OWCP benefits is often a good idea, precisely because it requires a lengthy administrative process to undergo.  If both are approved, then one must opt for one or the other.  If only one is approved, then the other can be fought for while accepting the benefit of the approved one.

Time is a valuable commodity in any endeavor; for Federal and Postal Workers who seek Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, time management and the recognition of the fallacy of incremental procrastination is an important step in beginning the process.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: Precision & Wiggle Room

In every legal writing and oral argument, there is an appropriate time and context for precision, and times when wide discretion must be used in allowing for additional evidence and argument to remain effective.  Recognizing and identifying which approach must be applied is the first step to effective advocacy; maintaining the flexibility when appropriate, and constraining the precision for all sides, is often a key to winning.

For Federal Disability Retirement law, whether under FERS or CSRS, the key in applying the applicable case-law, the meaning of the ruling of the court or administrative issuance, while keeping open and flexible the statement of one’s disability, is an important part of the entire process.

To “paint oneself into a corner” in one’s Statement of Disability is often a problem, where subsequent medical conditions arise but one cannot supplement or support such conditions because one was inappropriately precise (or unduly succinct) in the descriptive narrative of one’s statement; or, conversely, being vague about the importance, relevance or applicability of a certain holding in a precedent-setting case; these are all mistakes which should be avoided.

In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal or Postal Disability Retirement case, submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the context often drives the content; where precision is called for, technical knowledge must be applied and the terms of art must be inserted; where linguistic flexibility is required, the artful weaving of wiggle room must be allowed, in order for the air to circulate, and for the chameleon of appearance to change as circumstances require.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: The “Mixed Case”

The “Grab-bag” approach of annotating every medical condition on an Application for Federal Disability Retirement should be distinguished and differentiated from a “Mixed-Case” approach.  The former contains some unintended consequences (i.e., of being approved for a minor medical condition), while the latter is a formulation of multiple medical conditions, any one of which may be a basis for a Federal Disability Retirement application, but the combination of which will strengthen the case as a whole. 

By “Mixed-Case” does not necessarily include a mixture of psychiatric and physical conditions (although it might); rather, the conceptual term which is used here is meant to be a compendium of the primary medical conditions from which a Federal or Postal worker suffers, along with a descriptive narrative of the symptoms which are manifested. 

By preparing, formulating and completing an Applicant’s Statement of Disability (SF 3112A) in this manner, it satisfies the concerns which lead to the “Grab-bag” approach, but prevents the danger of having a Federal Disability Retirement application approved based upon a “minor” medical condition, by conceptually differentiating between diagnosed medical conditions v. symptoms, while at the same time including all of the medical conditions relevant to one’s Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Tailored Approach

By a “tailored” approach, it does not mean that it must be narrow and without flexibility.  Flexibility is important in a Federal Disability Retirement Applicant’s Statement of Disability (Standard Form 3112A).  For, if you tailor an Applicant’s Statement of Disability too narrowly, there are multiple unintended consequences which can occur — from being pigeonholed into a narrow disability (which can become problematic later on if you get a Medical Questionnaire for updated medical information); to being unable to provide supplemental medical documentation to prove your case because the additional medical documentation does not apply directly to an identified medical condition on the SF 3112A; to multiple other potentially problematic areas.  Thus, always make the distinction between a formally diagnosed medical condition from the symptoms which may be delineated.  Further, there does not have to be a 1-to-1 correspondence between diagnosis and symptom; rather, the symptomatology can interweave between the formal diagnosis and the experiential pain, discomfort or cognitive dysfunctions (especially for psychiatric disabilities).  By allowing for some flexibility, one leaves enough “wiggle room” without sacrificing a clear and concise tailoring of descriptive delineation.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire