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    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
    • Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions (44)
    • Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM (44)
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    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (18)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (78)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
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    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
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      • OPM Disability Actors – The Supervisor (13)
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      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112D Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts for CSRS and FERS (7)
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    • Professional & Expert Witnesses (5)
    • Reasonable Medical Treatment and Compliance Issues (6)
    • Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer (2,056)
    • Resigning or Being Separated From a Federal Agency for Medical Problems or Other Reasons (34)
    • SF 3112 Forms (11)
    • Specific Medical Conditions (29)
    • The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney (80)
    • Theory and Practice: Tips and Strategies for a Successful Application (204)
    • U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) (21)
    • U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) (79)
    • U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Disability Retirement (36)
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    • When the OPM Application Is Approved (14)
    • When the OPM Application Is Denied (94)

OPM Disability Retirement: The Administrative "Process"

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

I have previously written about how a Federal Disability Retirement application should be prepared:  that it should be looked upon as an administrative “process”, and as such, it is not like taking a test for a driver’s license, or filing an application to obtain a permit — both of which are similarly “administrative” issues.  The reason why filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS is different, and is a “process” as opposed to merely filing an “application” for something which will be essentially rubberstamped, is that it requires proof which must meet a certain statutory legal standard — it requires that one prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one is entitled to receive disability retirement benefits.  

Now, wherever “proof” of eligibility is required, there can be a disagreement as to whether or not such proof met the statutory eligibility requirements.  Other applications, such as filing for a Social Security Card, may also have certain statutory requirements, but normally such administrative applications are fairly “cut and dry” — such as, certain documents will be accepted to prove X, or certain forms may need to be filled out to obtain Y.  But where a legal standard of proof must be met, differences between the Applicant and the Agency may erupt. 

OPM may state, and argue, that the medical documentation, the Supervisor’s Statement, the Agency Certification of Accommodation efforts, the comparison between the applicant’s Statement of Disability and the doctor’s statements and notes — did not rise to the level of meeting the legal standard of “preponderance of the evidence”.  This is where many people get themselves into trouble — by thinking that it is merely an “application” to file in order to obtain an administrative benefit.  Then, when it gets denied at the first level, applicants become devastated, thinking that it is the end of the world.  From the outset, it should be looked at as a “process” — one which may take going to the Merit Systems Protection Board, or even further, to the Full Board Review, and then, if necessary, to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Clarifications of Laws or Rules, OPM Disability Application, OPM Disability Process | Tagged: a well-prepared opm disability case, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, applying for opm medical retirement, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, Burden of Proof, document preparation and opm disability law, entitlement to receive federal employee disability, federal disability and the agency's certification of accommodation, federal disability attorney, federal disability retirement application and process, fers disability and form filling application, FERS disability lawyer, fers disability retirement and the burden of proof concept, how to prepare a successful opm disability claim, lawyer federal retirement disability, legal arguments in the federal disability application, legal standards must be met during the opm disability process, nationwide representation of federal employees, opm denied my opm disability retirement application, OPM Disability Application, opm disability law and the preponderance of evidence concept, OPM disability retirement, opm disability: a form filling or a legal process?, opm retirement eligibility process, personal injury in a federal agency, planning an opm disability strategy that goes beyond form filling, preparing an OPM disability application for the long term, preponderance of the evidence concept in fers disability law, proof of eligibility in federal postal disability, reasons why the opm can deny disability application, reflections on the opm disability process, representing federal employees from any us government agency, representing federal employees in and outside the country, SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement, start fers disability retirement, statutory legal standard of disability or impairment, supervisors' revenge against Postal workers, the applicant's and the agency's legal arguments over opm disability, the applicant's legal arguments, the applicant's medical narrative report, the approval/disapproval process, things that can go wrong during the fers disability process, thinking process, understanding the whole opm disability process, using precedents in legal arguments, USPS disability retirement, wherever proof is required disagreements will emerge, why opm disability retirement can be denied? | Leave a comment »

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Reasonable Accommodation by the Agency

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

Often, aside from having submitted insufficient medical documentation to support a Federal Disability retirement application, the Office of Personnel Management will deny a case based upon a statement submitted by the Supervisor, normally on SF 3112B (aptly entitled, “Supervisor’s Statement”).  Now, in preparing a Federal Disability Retirement application, I rarely worry about what will be on a Supervisor’s Statement, primarily because the applicant rarely has any control over the contents of the statement, anyway, and therefore to focus upon that which one has little or no control over, is simply a waste of time.  Instead, I focus upon obtaining an overwhelmingly convincing medical narrative report from the doctor, which then essentially makes the Supervisor’s Statement — if it is viewed somewhat as “negative evidence” by the Office of Personnel Management — a moot and irrelevant point of contention.  More often than not, when the Office of Personnel Management refers to the Supervisor’s Statement as revealing some basis for denying a disability retirement application, I find that OPM has either mis-read the import of the statement, or has selectively misquoted from the Supervisor’s Statement.  Remember that the law requires that the Agency provide a “reasonable accommodation”; more often than not, what the Supervisor or the Agency has provided, is neither “reasonable”, nor an “accommodation” under the law.  In any event, whether by misquote, unfair and selective reasoning, misreading, “unreasonable”, or not an “accommodation” at all, I rarely find that the Supervisor’s Statement is helpful or unhelpful; and, certainly, I have never found that a Supervisor’s Statement contains any substance which would or should be the basis of a denial from the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Accommodation and Light Duty, Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions | Tagged: accommodation of federal employees, accommodation under OPM disability law, agency's influence in disability retirement, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, applying for federal disability, disability federal employee, disability retirement at the USPS, federal employee attorney, federal medical retirement FERS disability, injured federal employee, insufficient medical documentation for OPM disability, light duty in the Postal Service, limited duty in the Post Office, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement application, offer of modified assignment (limited duty) ps form 2499x, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Post Office disability, postal supervisors and managers, reasonable accommodation of federal workers, SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement, The Doctor's Medical Narrative, top reasons for denying an OPM disability application, US Postal Disability | 2 Comments »

Federal Disability Retirement: SSA Approval, Part II

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

In order for an SSA approval to have an impact upon a Federal disability retirement application, the Social Security Administration’s decision letter granting benefits must provide a detailed explanation as to the basis for the approval, delineating the medical basis, the medical conditions upon which the decision was made, etc.  Thereafter, the applicant can submit the decision letter, but this is where it is important to have an attorney provide the proper legal & foundational argument — to provide the contextual applicability.

The legal basis, to start with, is found in Trevan v. Office of Personnel Management, 69 F.3d 520, 526-27 (Fed. Cir. 1995), in which the Federal Circuit Court found that in making a determination of eligibility for disability retirement, the Board (and thus, by analogy, OPM) must consider an award of SSA disability benefits together with medical evidence provided by the appellant to OPM, and other evidence of disability.  This is when an attorney’s tools of “argument by analogy” and pointing out the significant contextual language in an SSA decision letter comes in handy.  Next:  What if an SSA decision letter is not immediately forthcoming, or does not address the same medical conditions as that applied for in one’s disability retirement application?

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted, Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time, OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits | Tagged: additional evidence to sustain your fers disability claim, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, argument by analogy, attorney for US government employees, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, case law citation in federal disabilities cases, civil service disability, civil service disability retirement, CSRS disability lawyer, disability retirement fers, disability retirement for federal employees, disability retirement laws under FERS & CSRS, documents you should not always submit to the opm, emphasizing quality in submitting opm medical records, federal disability law, federal employee turning over medical evidence to the opm, federal workers disability, FERS disability attorney, FERS disability lawyer, law firm for federal disability retirement, medical condition(s), medical evidence, medical evidence submitted to the opm for disability purposes, nationwide representation of federal employees, nexus between medical disability and job performance, OPM disability application tips, opm disability law firm, OPM disability lawyer, opm medical documents, opm supportive medical documentation, OPM's methodology, postal workers owcp rights attorney, pragmatic methodology, precedent and analogy in opm law legal reasoning, Social Security and OPM disability relationship, statutory requirements in OPM disability law, supporting substantial medical evidence to OPM, the applicant's methodology, the attorney's methodology, the opm must consider a ssa's decision if submitted, Trevan v. Office of Personnel Management, usps medical retirement, when to use a SSA disability decision, wyoming opm federal disability retirement | Leave a comment »

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Pragmatic Considerations

Posted on April 15, 2008 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

Often, pragmatic judgments and decisions must be considered at different stages of a disability retirement application. For instance, whether to submit all of the medical documentation in your possession is a discretionary judgment which needs to be considered. One might wonder why an applicant may withhold some or part of the medical documentation, and the answer is quite simple: if the Office of Personnel Management requests additional medical documentation, or it is rejected at the Initial Stage and further medical documentation needs to be submitted — if the applicant does not have additional medical documentation to submit, then there is very little incentive or basis for OPM to “reconsider” their position of denial.

Now, one might wonder, If the “additional” medical documentation had been submitted in the first place, perhaps OPM would never had requested more documentation, or perhaps they would have approved it to begin with. Not necessarily so. If you have already provided sufficient medical documentation to prove by a preponderance of the evidence your case, sometimes reserving that “extra” set of office or treatment notes is a wise decision. It may be the difference between being able to respond to OPM’s request for additional medical documentation, and not being able to — and the difference between an approval or a denial, and a basis for OPM to “reconsider” their position.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM | Tagged: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, civil service disability, each opm disability stage requires a different approach, federal government disability, federal medical retirement, filing for OPM disability retirement, making a pragmatic consideration on disability issues, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement application, OPM disability application tips and strategies, OPM disability retirement, OPM First Stage Disability Application, OPM Initial Stage in federal disability, planning your opm disability strategy from the beginning, Post Office disability, pragmatic methodology, preponderance of the evidence documents, saving some medical docs for later in opm disability, tips for us government employees on disability retirement, USPS Disability, when the opm request additional medical documentation | Leave a comment »

  • More on CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement

    • eZineArticles.com Article: The 1 Year Statute of Limitations
    • Federal Disability Retirement Laws, Medical Conditions, and the Intersecting Complications with OWCP, Social Security and FERS & CSRS
    • Federal Disability Retirement: The Full Arsenal of Weapons
    • FedSmith.com Article: Revisiting "Accommodation"
    • FedSmith.com Article: Sometimes the Process is just as important as the Substance of an Argument
    • Latest PostalReporter.com Article: Causation in a Federal Disability Retirement Case
    • Understanding the Complexities of the Law
    • USPS Disability Blog: The National Reassessment Program, the Agency and the Worker
  • Other Resources for Federal and Postal Employees

    • Articles Published in the Postal Reporter
    • FAQs on OPM Disability Retirement
    • FERS Disability Attorney Profile at Lawyers.com
    • Main Website on Federal Disability Retirement
    • OPM Disability Blog
    • The Postal Service Disability Retirement Blog
  • Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

    1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
    False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job.  Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability. 

    2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
    False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related.  If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

    3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
    False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.  

    4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
    False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

    5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
    False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

    6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
    False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

    7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
    False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.
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