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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)
    • Burden of Proof (30)
    • Clarifications of Laws or Rules (161)
    • CSRS Disability (1)
    • Eligibility Criteria (18)
    • 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 (79)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
    • FERS Disability (10)
    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
    • LWOP and Sick Leave in OPM Disability (12)
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    • OPM Disability & OWCP Workers Comp Filings (45)
    • OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits (40)
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    • OPM Disability Actors (289)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Agency (54)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Applicant (79)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Attorney (55)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Doctor (54)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Human Resources Office (17)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The MSPB Administrative Judge (6)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The OPM Representatives (31)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Others (9)
      • OPM Disability Actors – The Supervisor (13)
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    • OPM Disability and a Hostile Working Environment (11)
    • OPM Disability Application (187)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112 Disability Retirement Application Package (29)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112A Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS and FERS (62)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement for CSRS and FERS (9)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112C Physician's Statement for CSRS and FERS (15)
      • OPM Disability Application – SF 3112D Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts for CSRS and FERS (7)
    • OPM Disability Process (160)
      • OPM Disability Process – 1st Stage: OPM Disability Application (36)
      • OPM Disability Process – 2nd Stage: OPM Reconsideration Stage (28)
      • OPM Disability Process – 3rd Stage: MSPB Stage (17)
      • OPM Disability Process – 4th Stage: Petition for Full Review at the MSPB (4)
      • OPM Disability Process – 5th Stage: Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (2)
    • OPM Disability Retirement & EEOC Complaints (4)
    • OPM Medical Questionnaire (8)
    • Post-Application Issues (19)
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    • Professional & Expert Witnesses (5)
    • Reasonable Medical Treatment and Compliance Issues (6)
    • Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer (2,116)
    • 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) (81)
    • 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 (95)

OPM Disability Retirement: Selective Prosecution

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

The term itself implies a sense of unfairness.  But fairness often depends upon a viewpoint, and the methodology which is applied, or failed to be applied.

Thus, in a Federal Disability Retirement case, whether under FERS or CSRS, if the U.S. Office of Personnel Management selectively extrapolates from medical reports, without giving a thorough review and analysis of the submitted documentation, then one may validly allege that such selective “prosecution” of a case has been unfairly perpetrated.

If, on the other hand, one applies the identical concept to the Federal or Postal employee who is the applicant filing for Federal Disability Retirement, then one’s perspective may change. Because the Applicant (the Federal or Postal employee) has the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one is entitled and eligible for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, it is therefore proper that the Federal or Postal employee also has the “right” to selectively choose which medical conditions to identify, and to support those medical conditions with the appropriate medical documentation and proof.

One could allege that allowing for the Federal or Postal employee to choose which medical documentation to submit amounts to a selective prosecution of the case; but to make such an allegation misses the point.  It is not the act of selectivity; rather, the methodology and the underlying foundation, which determines the fairness or unfairness of the process.  Everyone has to make choices; how that choice is made, and why, makes all the difference.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant | Tagged: advantages that the federal disability retirement applicant has over the office of personnel management, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, civil service disability, defining fairness in the federal disability retirement process, disability retirement at the USPS, documents you should not always submit to the opm, examining all and each document submitted to the opm, Federal Disability, federal disability retirement, federal disability retirement lawyer, FERS disability retirement, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, nationwide representation of federal employees, not playing by the rules: how the opm might sometimes deny your disability application, OPM disability retirement, opm medical documents, opm supportive medical documentation, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, Postal disability retirement, representing federal employees in and outside the country, selective prosecution of the opm disability retirement law, the federal employee has the right to submit the medical documentation he or she deems necessary, the opm must evaluate medical documentation, the relative fairness of the opm disability process, understanding how the opm may use your medical documentation for its own purposes, USPS disability retirement, usps federal attorney, what documents should I turn over opm for my disability claim?, when the opm uses selective documents to deny your disability application, your medical retirement claim and the opm's selective picks, your weakest medical documentation is the one that the opm may use to deny fers disability benefits | Leave a comment »

Federal Worker Disability Retirement: Criteria & Proof

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, a two-step process (at a minimum) must be engaged in when compiling the foundational presentation of a Federal Disability Retirement application.  

First, a thorough reading, comprehension and understanding of the “what” in reviewing the criteria applicable for eligibility and entitlement to a Federal Disability Retirement application:  What does it say?  What is required?  What type of evidence meets the requirements?  And sometimes just as importantly:  What has previously failed to meet the requirements?  

Thereafter, once the conceptual framework of grasping and understanding the “what” of the process, and proceeding to gather the information requested in preparing and formulating one’s Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, then the pre-filing conceptual stage of the second-order should be engaged in:  “Whether”.  

Whether what is gathered is sufficient to meet the legal criteria necessary to be eligible and entitled to Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS; whether it is either (or both) qualitatively and quantitatively sufficient to meet the legal criteria for eligibility.  The “whether” question is a much more universal one, in that it must encompass the full panoply and compendium of the evidence gathered.  Not that it cannot be supplemented at a later date (it can), although there are restrictions and limitations imposed by what is delineated on one’s Applicant’s Statement of Disability (SF 3112A).

Understanding the conceptual distinction between the “what” and the “whether” is an important mental exercise to undertake, if only on a superficial level of making one pause for a moment to consider whether the extensive effort one must endure will be worthwhile.  

It is better to take the necessary and sufficient time at the outset, than to find out after much effort has been expended, that both the “what” and the “whether” have been insufficient to meet the basic legal criteria for eligibility for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS from the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Eligibility Criteria | Tagged: applicant's statement of disability, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, criteria for medical retirement, documentation for federal medical retirement, eligibility criteria for disability under fers and csrs laws, examining all and each document submitted to the opm, Federal Disability, federal disability form sf3112a questions, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement, federal disability retirement foundational presentation, federal workers disability criteria, fers disability criteria, FERS disability retirement, getting the proof you need to show you send your docs to the opm, legal criteria to get postal retirement due to mental conditions, meeting the criteria of eligibility for csrs disability retirement, opm disability legal sufficiency and proof, OPM disability retirement, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, postal service disability retirement, preponderance of the evidence documents, proof of disability for federal workers, proof of eligibility in federal postal disability, relevant criteria to choose the right medical documentation fers disability, the standard of proof, the what and whether questions one must ask before filing for disability, two important pronouns in the quest to federal disability retirement, USPS disability retirement | Leave a comment »

OPM Disability Retirement: Tools to Use

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

I am often asked, when filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, Will you use … ?  From the range of tools of evidence to use — including VA disability ratings, to OWCP “CA” forms, MMI ratings, Veterans Administration records, Second opinion doctor’s report, referee opinion report, letters from the Agency indicating unavailability of work; letters from the agency indicating the extent and limitation of willingness to provide for an “accommodation” (whether legally sufficient to rise to the level of meeting the definition of what it means to be an “accommodation” under the law), and multiple other tools — all of it is a matter of legal discretion.  

The general rule that I utilize is that, If it is helpful to my client’s case to prove to the Office of Personnel Management that my client’s Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS will be enhanced and aided by the material, then I will use it.  The discretionary issue which the attorney representing an applicant for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is essentially to “match” the document or piece of evidence with the particular issues which must be proven, and that is a matter of carefully reviewing each piece of evidence in compiling a compendium of evidence which makes up the “whole”.  It takes time, patience, and sufficient legal knowledge to understand which issues are important in proving a Federal Disability Retirement case under FERS or CSRS to the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM | Tagged: additional evidence to sustain your fers disability claim, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, civil service disability, common sense tips on the disability application and documentation, compiling additional supporting documentation, disability retirement at the USPS, discretion with the opm in handling a federal disability reconsideration, discretionary decisions to submit a good opm disability claim, documentation for federal medical retirement, essential elements of jobs, examining all and each document submitted to the opm, federal agencies and secop doctors, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement tools, federal employee disability, FERS disability retirement, FERS medical retirement, filing for OPM disability retirement, gathering medical documentation for an incapacitated federal employee, getting quality and substantial medical documentation, how an opm disability attorney must be able to make discretionary decisions, Medical Documentation for OPM Disability Retirement, medical documentation guidelines, medical evidence, medical evidence from the workers comp process, medical evidence submitted to the opm for disability purposes, more about the medical documentation in the fers disability application, nationwide representation of federal employees, OPM disability and VA ratings, opm medical documents, opm supportive medical documentation, owcp disability retirement, preponderance of the evidence documents, representing federal employees from any us government agency, resources for injured federal workers, selecting only the best medical documentation for the fers claim, strong and irrefutable medical evidence, supporting documentation regarding federal employee's medical condition, tools a disabled federal employee can use to prove his or her case, using medical documentation from the owcp, using secop reports in your fers disability claim, USPS disability retirement, usps medical documentation requirements, va disability ratings and opm disability retirement criteria, what documents should I turn over opm for my disability claim?, what medical documents to use in an opm disability application, what other medical documentation to use in fers disability retirement, when to use ratings information from the veterans administration, whether to use a va rating or not in the opm disability application | Leave a comment »

Medical Retirement Benefits for Federal & Postal Employees: Listing the Medical Conditions

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

The rule on an application for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS is that, once the application is filed with the Office of Personnel Management, the application cannot be amended or modified with respect to the “list” of medical conditions.  Thus, on the Applicant’s Statement of Disability (SF 3112A), one must list the medical conditions upon which the entire application for eligibility is based.  Once it is filed with OPM and a CSA Number is assigned to the case, you are restricted from being able to “add” to the list of medical conditions which are delineated on your statement.  This is fair enough, if one stops and reflects upon it, for a number of reasons.  For one thing, it would be unfair to have the right to change the basis upon which one has filed for Federal Employee Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.  For another, OPM must be able to begin the process of evaluating the eligibility of a case without the potential for modification of the medical conditions, or the adding or subtracting of the underlying basis of the claim.  However, the mere fact that one cannot “add” to the list of medical conditions, does not prevent one from submitting additional supporting medical documentation (even from a previously-unnamed medical provider) which would support the already-listed medical conditions. 

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Application - SF 3112A Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS and FERS | Tagged: accepting opm disability clients all across america, after you have submitted your federal disability application...., all conditions listed in the application should explain the "nexus", Appeals, Application, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, can I change my federal disability application once it has reached boyers?, civil service disability, CSA Number, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, disability retirement at the USPS, disability retirement for federal employees, editing a csrs disability application after initial submission, examining all and each document submitted to the opm, federal disability law blog, federal employees suffering from multiple injuries and illnesses, federal employees with several injuries and illnesses, FERS disability retirement, Health Conditions and the Federal and Postal Employee, how to list all relevant medical conditions in the opm disability claim, if the applicant has several medical conditions, if the opm disability applicant has several medical issues, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, legal services for federal and postal workers all across america, list only disabilities that prevent core functions of the job, listing different illnesses in your opm disability application, listing multiple occupational injuries and illnesses, listing several medical conditions in an opm disability application, medical condition(s), medical conditions that will qualify you for opm disability retirement, modifying a fers disability application during the first stage, multiple medical disabilities federal employee, OPM disability application tips and strategies, OPM disability lawyer, OPM disability retirement, OPM First Stage Disability Application, Postal disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, representing federal employees from any us government agency, representing federal employees in and outside the country, USPS disability retirement, verifying documents submitted to the office of personnel management, what changes am I allowed to do after I turn in my fers disability application?, what changes can I make after I have submitted my disability application to the opm?, when the office of personnel management evaluates your disability application, when the opm disability applicant has several illnesses, when the opm in washington receives and evaluates the packet, when there are several medical conditions, workplace injuries and illnesses in the federal government | Leave a comment »

OPM Disability Retirement: As Strong As the Weakest Link

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

Have you ever heard the phrase, that “X is only as strong as the weakest link”?  What does that mean?  When applied to Federal Disability Retirement applications, it has significance and application on multiple levels.  Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS and CSRS has multiple, and almost an infinite amount of, potholes, dangers, traps and landmines, both hidden and apparent — and that is from the viewpoint of the attorney.  I can only imagine what it is like for the Federal or Postal employee who thinks as follows:  I have a serious medical condition; there is a benefit called “disability retirement”; let me make copies of my medical records, fill out the forms, and submit it.  I should get it with no problems.  I get telephone calls almost on a daily basis from people who say, “I can’t believe that the Office of Personnel Management disapproved my claim.  What did I do wrong?”  Often, it is the Office of Personnel Management that “did something wrong”, and it is up to the Attorney to point that fact out. 

Now, back to the original thought of this blog:  A case is only as strong as the weakest link.  As Federal Disability Retirement applications have many complex issues surrounding and central to the application and the application process, it is important to make sure that even the weakest link of the packet — whether it is the doctor’s report, the Applicant’s Statement of Disability, the legal arguments to be made, etc. — make sure that the weakest of the links is strong enough to withstand the selective (and often unfair) reasoning and attacks of the Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant, OPM Disability Actors - The Attorney, OPM Disability Application, Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: being careful what you say in your federal disability application, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, careful walking in the path toward federal disability retirement, complex issues surrounding a fers disability application, disability retirement federal government, examining all and each document submitted to the opm, fers disability benefits, fers disability mistakes, FERS medical retirement, fhers disability retirement, injured sick postal worker not on duty, keeping up with all the paperwork necessary for opm disability, landmines to watch during the federal disability process, legal representation for injured federal workers, medical disability for federal employees, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement application, nationwide representation of federal employees, opm disability application paperwork flow, OPM disability application tips and strategies, opm disability retirement blog, opm disability retirement representation in utah, OPM medical retirement, planning an opm disability strategy that goes beyond form filling, Post Office disability, postal workers owcp rights attorney, power of chain is measured by its weakest ring, preparing for a strong fers disability case, preparing the whole opm disability packet, representing federal employees from any us government agency, representing federal employees in and outside the country, SF 3112 disability retirement forms, SF 3112E(8)(d) Disability Retirement Application Checklist, strategists for a good opm disability application, the applicant's weakest document in the opm disability packet, the opm disability applicant: what did I did wrong?, the weakest statement is used many times by opm to deny disability, US Postal Disability, usps disability benefits, USPS disability retirement, usps federal attorney, withstanding the selective reasoning of the opm | Leave a comment »

  • More on 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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