The ability to negotiate an advantageous settlement of an issue is dependent not merely upon the possession of leverage, but upon the effective use of that leverage. Such effective usage would require, first and foremost, a dual presentation: First, recognition of the value of such leverage, and second, the ability to have the opposing party believe that the value is exponentially exaggerated. Once these dual components are satisfied, one can be assured that a favorable settlement can be reached.
In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, one often finds that the Federal or Postal employee is involved in multiple facets of collateral litigation or adverse actions with the Agency. As part of a “global settlement” of legal issues, the agency will inevitably offer the Federal or Postal employee a “disability retirement”. Yet, the first recognition of order which the Federal or Postal employee must address, is the fact that the agency is not the entity which can grant a Federal Disability Retirement. Only the U.S. Office of Personnel Management can grant or deny a Federal Disability Retirement application to the Federal or Postal applicant.
Can the support of the agency help? Yes — if formulated properly. Be aware, however, as case-law supports OPM’s contention that settlements of collateral issues should not be used as a basis for obtaining the support of an agency in an application for Federal Disability Retirement. A balancing act must be adopted. And, as always, Federal Disability Retirement is first and foremost an issue of one’s medical condition.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Clarifications of Laws or Rules | Tagged: agency's influence in disability retirement, agency's influence on the opm disability claim is limited, agency's influence versus power to grant opm disability, attorney representing federal employees, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, blog on civil service disability retirement, collateral litigation and federal employee disability retirement with the us government, empleados federales en puerto rico: ayuda para retiro por incapacidad, experience and results for federal employee disability claims, Federal Disability, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement, fers disability representation across the usa, FERS disability retirement, filing an opm disability denial response with a postal attorney, how much can a fed employer influence the fers disability application?, lawyer federal retirement disability, medical disability lawyers opm, nationwide representation of federal employees, OPM disability retirement, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, representing federal employees from any us government agency, revising the value of a settlement with the federal agency, sound legal advice on federal disability retirement, the most complete blog on federal disability retirement, the postal service does not have authority to approve disability retirement for its employees, the postal service's influence on disability matters through the sf 3112d, the value of a federal agency's promise to approve fers disability retirement, trabajadores postales en puerto rico y ayuda para retiro inmediato por razones médicas, understanding personnel actions with the federal agency and their promises for quick medical retirement, USPS disability retirement, what agency approves disability retirement for federal employees?, who approves disability retirement for federal and postal employees? | Leave a comment »
FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: The Limitation of Agency Actions
Often, in the process of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, the client will ask the question, “Well, doesn’t that prove that I can’t do the job?” Such a question invariably points to some action by the Agency — a letter or a memorandum; a statement which the Supervisor made, etc. While it may be true that the Agency believes that a Federal or Postal employee is unable to perform, or is not performing, all of the essential elements of the job, remember that actions of the Agency can never replace the affirmative burden of proof that one is unable, medically, to perform the essential elements of one’s job.
One must keep in mind that the Office of Personnel Management is a separate Agency which is not necessarily in communication with the Agency which employs the Federal or Postal employee. The “mindset” of the Agency is not being considered by the Office of Personnel Management. Whatever the motivations of the Agency in doing what it is or will do, is to a great extent irrelevant to OPM. What the Agency is doing may well indicate “proof” as to other issues — i.e., inability to accommodate; acknowledgment that certain essential elements of one’s job is not being performed, etc. — but it does not prove that an individual is unable, as a result of a medical condition, to perform all of the essential elements of the job. Only a doctor can do that.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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