FERS Disability Retirement: Thanksgiving — 2022

Every Thanksgiving is unique and special.  Why?  Because each year brings new and unrealized challenges.  Between the day after Thanksgiving and the following year’s Thanksgiving, with 360-plus days to contend with, life modifies and alters.  There is not much we can do about it.  Stuff happens.  Family dynamics change; grief occurrences intrude; tragedies impede; life happens.  And yet, when the next Thanksgiving comes to the fore and we gather together once more, we are no longer the person we were at last Thanksgiving, and yet we find the blessings of life for which we are thankful.

Yes, yes, all that “pilgrim stuff” and the Native Americans and the tug and pull of which historical paradigm we should acknowledge, accept and pay homage to — and yet, when we gather around the Thanksgiving table, does any of that matter?  And the turkey — is actually besides the point.  It is the ‘extras’ — of stuffing, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, all of the side dishes; and the gathering of family.  Yes, it might be irritating to hear Uncle X expound upon his political beliefs; or Aunt Y making rude comments about this or that dish; or someone having the temerity to talk about politics or how sanctimonious the pilgrims were, blah blah blah.

But in the tumultuous interaction of family and friends, if you just pause for a moment and remember that human relationships are complex all around the world, you might just hear the quiet blessings which matter most:  Family; health; laughter; joy; a moment of reflective ecstasy — another year, and yet we are heathy enough to enjoy this day, this special moment, of Thanksgiving, 2022.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

 

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Agencies Rarely Accommodate

For whatever reasons, Federal Agencies rarely accommodate an individual who has a medical condition which impacts one or more of the essential elements of one’s job.  Whether the Supervisor is too busy to craft a viable accommodation plan, or whether the Agency is simply following the standard thoughtless response of the Federal Sector in general, the truth is that Agencies rarely, if ever, provide a truly viable, legally defined accommodation.  I receive calls every day from Federal and Postal employees who will state that the Agency is currently “accommodating” him/her; upon closer questioning, however, it always turns out that the term “accommodation” is being used in a non-artful, general sense, as in:  The Agency is letting me take LWOP; the agency is letting me take sick leave; the agency is letting me not travel too much; the agency is letting me…  What the agency is doing, whatever it is, is to temporarily keep you around until they decide your services are no longer needed.  That may be just around the corner, or you may be forgotten for some considerable amount of time.  Regardless, don’t be fooled; agencies rarely accommodate, and it is most likely the case that whatever “accommodations” the Federal or Postal employee believes that the Agency is providing, it does not fall under the legal definition of the term.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire