Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement Benefits: Time Spent

We have all had that experience — of time spent, perhaps on a project, a hobby, a career goal or some other pursuit — but which resulted in a dead end.  Time spent on something which fails to produce the fruit desired is often considered “wasted time”; or, perhaps something is salvageable, like some lesson learned which can then be transferred to the next pursuance of something worthwhile.

But time spent on something which has no possibility of a positive outcome — like a medical condition which is becoming a chronic, intractable fact of life — becomes a self-defeating pursuit.  For, what is the purpose of such time which is spent?  It is merely to obsess upon a condition of one’s life, to deplore its effects and become despondent over the future.

Time spent upon dead-end thought-processes is merely to waste and whittle the time away for no good reason.

Better to put one’s energies into securing one’s future by preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, then to turn one’s energy and time upon another career beyond the federal government.  Contact an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement, and begin the process of reevaluating the time spent on what you can no longer do, as opposed to spending time on what you might be able to do in the future.

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.

 

Postal and Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Progressive Deterioration

We witness it in others — in our parents; in ourselves, we “feel” it more than see it, as we don’t visually view ourselves in the mirror or observe our own reflections as a third party; and in a community, sometimes we are witness to either ends of the spectrum — of the slow crumbling and abandonment or the “gentrification” of a neighborhood; and in the greater society, the progressive deterioration, of a loss of commonality and retraction of civil behavior, etc.

Progressive deterioration is also how a medical condition “works” — of an incremental, almost imperceptible loss of function, lessening of efficacy, regression of capacity.  Then, there comes a point where such loss no longer allows a person to perform in the same manner as he or she once was capable of.  People compensate in various ways to overcome such deterioration, almost always, however, at a further cost to one’s body or mind.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition has reached a point where the progressive deterioration no longer allows you to perform one or more of the essential functions of your position, contact a disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement and consider the option of leaving that phase of your career behind, and moving forward to apply those other functions in a different capacity.

Progressive deterioration is rarely one of complete devastation; not of totality, but of partial loss and lessening.

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.

 

Postal & Federal Disability Retirement: The Details of Life

We speak generally, but live by details; think in terms of grand plans and hypothetical dreams, but become bogged down in the minutiae of daily concerns; care about grand schemes and philosophical methodologies but are forced to take out the garbage in the morning.

It is the details of life that determine our behavior, necessitate our reactions and force our hands.  In coming to a contractual agreement, there are general principles which can be negotiated, but whether the signature is inked into the final agreement depends upon the “devil in the details”.  Most of us like to spout grand beliefs and ethical precepts, but how many of us would stick to the details of such beliefs when arrest and torture is threatened?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, Federal Disability Retirement might be a consideration that must be entertained.  The Law works only within the context of details; it is the details of a case which must be reviewed and advanced.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and do not allow the details of life to get in the way, but rather, make sure that the details are focused upon in order to prove by a preponderance of the evidence your rightful eligibility to Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: The world of others

Sometime between birth and self-awareness, there comes a point of consciousness where recognition that this is a world of others becomes unavoidable.  Perhaps it is that critical juncture where an adjustment is then made, or not, which determines whether or not children revert back to the insularity of inner worlds, or compromise and allow for greater interaction with the outer universe, despite the inherent dangers presented.

The sense of “I” as opposed to the outer universe likely comes first, but the two are so intertwined that they cannot develop without one another — the self is unable to distinguish the distinction unless there is the “other” to posit as a contrast to the self.

The World of Others is a frightening thought; for, the implications are that control of one’s own world is potentially endangered by active agents uncontrolled by one’s own will; when a foreign will is introduced into the equation, we lose control of our ability — and as importantly, our confidence — that events small and great can be shaped with predicability.

As adults, we take for granted the world of others; we are thus taught at an early age to worry only about things that we have control over, and let the rest go — lest the unfettered universe of the world of others, so expansive and without boundaries, would place so much stress upon our cognitive capacity to worry and be concerned, that a mental breakdown might occur as a result.

Look at people who are deemed “control freaks” — they are constantly anxious because they must always maintain the world around and manipulate each and every aspect of tangential lives.  In the end, the microcosm of control is of limited means; the will of others can only be boxed in when weaker personalities submit to stronger ones, but even then, the unpredictability of human nature reveals the ineffectiveness of unfettered dominance.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and must necessarily “deal” with the World of Others — Agency actions; Postal harassment; adverse actions and retaliatory impositions — in a manner that distracts from the singular goal of trying to regain and maintain one’s health, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits may be the best solution.

The World of Others cannot ultimately be controlled; what you have is the ability and capacity to control your own fate and destiny, and preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through OPM is one such step that is within your control.  Now, as for what the U.S. Office of Personnel Management does and doesn’t do — that remains in the World of Others, and perhaps you should consider having an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law handle that aspect of the World of Others.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement Representation: The problem perspective

Does “positive thinking” actually work?  Or, is it one of those pithy approaches to life, where the “throwaway” line is used to dismiss unpleasantries and negative influences that might otherwise disprove the obvious — that life is difficult enough without listening to the difficulties of others?  Then, there is the “problem perspective” — of seeing everything as a problem as opposed to a solution or opportunity, and to see the world as a glass half-empty in contradistinction to a half-full universe.

Objectively, of course, both descriptions reflect the same objective reality; the contention is that “how” we view the world (i.e., our subjective perspective upon the world around us) influences the manner in which we approach the objective world in deliberating, solving, resolving, tackling problems, embracing situations, etc.

The “problem perspective” describes a person who sees everything from the vantage point of a problem.  It is all well and good, of course, to speak about having a “positive” frame of mind when things are going well; it is when actual, objective problems and difficulties arise in one’s life, that the “real test” of whether “positive thinking” works comes into question.

Objectively, of course, one could argue that, whether one possesses a “positive” mindset, a “negative” perspective, or a somewhat neutral approach, the outside world (that “noumenal” universe that Kant referred to) cares not a twit about what we “think” (i.e., the phenomenal universe that Kant distinguished — the one that we actually have access to) about it — for, it still exists whether we have a positive, negative or neutral perspective, anyway.

It is when the objective world impinges upon the subjective perspective with an undeniable negation of the positive — as in, a medical condition that debilitates and makes for a painful existence, whether physically or cognitively — that the test of whether a “positive” outlook works, or whether a “negative” perspective makes a difference, tests our daily lives.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the approach one takes may indeed make a difference with a real distinction.  Yes, the end of one’s Federal or Postal career may be coming; and, yet, the Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service may well move to terminate you based upon your growing inability to perform one or more of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job.

In the end, such a “problem perspective” is a very real one, and becomes a problem precisely because there is a combination of both the “objective” world (the medical condition itself) and the “subjective” one (what to do about it; the next steps to be taken; the decision to be made, etc.).

Preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, may not only be the best “next step” to take — it may be the “only” one in the sense that all other options are undesirable: to stay and suffer; to resign and walk away without doing anything; or to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In the end, all “problem perspectives” need a positive solution, and preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application is the best and positive solution for a Federal or Postal employee needing to resolve the problem perspective where one’s medical condition no longer allows for the fulfillment of all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Analogies

It is the greater concept often developed through metaphors and similes; but to the extent they are now of use depends largely upon the shared cultural context within which we live.  If Classical literature is no longer the common thread of meaningful discourse, can references to them in creating analogies work?  To share that a person’s tragedy is more Shakespeare than Milton, or that the individual’s circumstances remind one more akin to The Road to Wigan Pier than Brideshead Revisited, can such conversations take on a relevant pathway if the intellectual divide fails to be crossed?

You can, of course, always Google and quickly get the quick rundown of the literary reference through electronic Spark Notes, or some other venue of shortcutting the arduous endeavor reserved in former times; but even that may reveal an inadequacy that cannot be overcome.  For, of what part of the book or author is being referred to?  Is it any particular play or poem, or the entirety of the work itself?  Is it any specific character or scene?

Some philosophers have posited that, by and large, we comprehend and make sense of the objective world through the use of analogies, built upon by metaphors and similes; for, language itself is a conglomerate of such literary devices.  To face the universe purely for survival’s sake is to forego the need for imposing the ordering through language; animals do not require it, but in the most rudimentary of mechanisms that advance warning signs and preemptive communications; it is only in the arena of human constructs where categorical imperatives need to be assigned in order to filter the world into more palatable and circumscribed entities for processing the complexities we have created.

Analogies thus communicate through the medium of shared conceptual constructs, where we draw in the recipient and spectator, the audience of our targeted comparisons, by relating a shared, known and familiar encapsulation of linguistic constructs.  It is only when the strangeness of the metaphor, the unfamiliarity of the reference, creates further puzzlement and loss of connection, that problems occur and relationships become fissures of language games gone awry.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties, the applicability of providing a foundational construct of relating one’s story to an “administrative specialist” at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will often involve – and require – analogies by default.

Use them sparingly; utilize discretion; and, in writing up one’s narrative in response to the questions posed on SF 3112A (Applicant’s Statement of Disability), remember that this is not the time, the context or the best place to try out radical, untested metaphors, similes or analogies.

Thus, while those who have read Orwell’s work, The Road to Wigan Pier, as well as Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, may find a clever and appropriate place in one’s Applicant’s Statement of Disability to make some brilliant literary reference, it may be more prudent to stick to the medical facts and incorporate those supportive documents in dealing with analogies of life, health, and the nexus between the latter and one’s Federal or Postal job duties.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire