Disability Retirement for the Federal or Postal Employee: Character Questions

Questioning one’s character occurs in multiple guises, by subtle and overt means, through self-reflection and conspiracies of consorts; one can question through self-reflection, when an intended result falls short of expectations; one can do it to others, when that which was promised was unfulfilled; or, we can do it out of sheer meanness, when rumors and unverifiable gossip can eat away at the fabric of one’s unprotected persona and self-image.

The offense of questioning one’s character is grave, indeed, and the responsiveness of reactionary rectitude is often tied to the sensitivity of one’s self-image, the reputation one holds within a given community, and the sense that one must maintain and control the opinions of others.  Indeed, in this world of Facebook and rampant, unconstrained and un-restrainable opinions thrown about throughout the ethereal universe of the Internet, the questioning of one’s character is something which must be responded to with a callous disregard.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who must contend with a hostile work environment when a medical condition begins to impact one’s ability to perform all of the essential elements of one’s job, the issue of character questioning falls to the forefront without notice, without warning, and without a capacity to quickly respond.  Suddenly,  those years and decades of dedicated service are open to questioning; what one did in the past counts for naught; what one is currently doing is discounted because it falls short of coworkers’ expectations because of the enormous contributions of the past, which now account for little; and what is anticipated for the future is set aside, as one becomes a nobody in a universe which only takes into account the present actions and current accolades.

The fact that a medical condition is the culprit of one’s diminished professional capacity means little; and as the agency rarely reveals any underlying capability for empathy, the choices become limited: filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, is often the best and most viable option. Federal Disability Retirement is a means to an end:  the means requires that the Federal or Postal employee attains a level of security such that the medical condition itself can be the primary focus; the end is for the Federal or Postal employee to remain productive for the future, and to utilize the talents and as-yet-unrealized contributions to society for the many years to come.

Character questioning is a game of sorts, and one which empty souls and superficial artifices of valueless individuals engage in; the question itself should never involve a self-reflection of doubt based upon the invalid criticism of others, but the forthright confidence of the Federal or Postal employee who still has many years of valuable contributions left, in a society which screams for character.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement Lawyer: Acrylic Acrimonies

It usually refers to paints, but is technically an acid used to form polymers, and may be mixed in order to manufacture compound elements for plastic and other synthetic products.  The second part of the short alliteration refers to the bitterness which develops when failure, or a perceived failure, begins to gnaw at the edges of sanity. The slow, incremental, eating away at a life of accomplishment and productivity, can come when once the self-discipline of setting insurmountable parameters has been ignored or otherwise untended.  Bitterness is a state of regret, reserved for old men and furies left uncontrolled.

Acrylic acrimonies, then, describes a state of being where a kaleidoscope of bursting colors coalesce with a temperament sharpened by disappointment.  Such conceptual compounds can be creatively presented, in order to provide a framework for a mellifluous flow of linguistic metaphor.  For, as sudden and unexpected events in a person’s life can cut short an expectation of future accomplishments yet to be realized, so acrylic acrimonies can provide a scented dye to a life once calm and collected.

Medical conditions tend to bring out the acrylic acrimonies festering below the surface of a calm aptitude of competence.  For, whatever diagnosis is ascribed to a given medical condition, the mystery of deterioration still scares us.  The turmoil that one must undergo when confronting a medical condition further exacerbates the state of disarray.  For the Federal employee or the U.S. Postal worker who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition begins to impact one’s ability and capacity to perform all of the essential elements of one’s positional duties, it may be time to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

The explosion of acrylic acrimonies may burst forth and be forever unconstrained, and thereby destructive beyond the intended beauty which color and paint should represent.  As red represents the color of anger, and blue the morose hue of anguish, so bitterness should remain a lonely stranger unfulfilled lest an artificial compound synthesizes forever a sense of disappointment in life.

Medical conditions can be traumatic; but the trauma of destruction through illness or disability can be somewhat ameliorated if one can reach a period of rehabilitation where the interruption of a career can become a plateau of peace.  Filing for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement benefits can allow for the beginning of a new phase in life.  Getting from the trauma of a medical condition to the receipt of an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is the goal to attain that level of peace.  Leave behind the acrylic acrimonies for others to step into; it’s not worth the price of the can of paint.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement from the USPS and Other Government Agencies: Construction

Meaning and value are attached to building, and watching the construction of end-products resulting from an assembly-line of incremental, almost imperceptible progression of composite aggregations of artistry.  To build, and to witness the progress of effort expended, is to reveal advancement and accomplishment; and so the evidence of our cleverness is determined by the accumulation of that stuff which represents and constitutes a lifetime of endeavors.

We add children to our family, and watch them grow; we are satisfied when bank accounts enlarge; puppies become dogs; houses are built; office spaces are rearranged and furnished; the empty space is filled.  We witness the building of things, and it is the completion of that which we construct that provides for satisfaction and value upon the end product, before we go on to the next, and the next.

But what of human value?  Is the pinnacle death, or some intermediate vortex where the progression on a graph reaches an apex, then trends downward towards a demise?  Can we analogize the construction of an inert object and extrapolate an anthropomorphic value in comparison with a person’s life? Medical conditions and their interruptive characteristics have a tendency to suddenly bring questions encapsulating value, meaning and futility to the fore.  One can spend a lifetime building, only to watch the fruits of such labor become diminished, or destroyed, through the intervening unexpectedness of a medical condition.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits by the Federal employee or the U.S. Postal worker is often viewed as a stop-gap measure which fends off the tides of change. Change is unfortunately an inevitability of life.   For the Federal and Postal worker who has spent a lifetime building for the Federal Sector, who suddenly finds that a medical condition prevents him or her from performing all of the essential elements of one’s job, and must therefore face (a) resignation, (b) termination, or (c) the alternative option — whatever that may be; it is the last of the three options which possesses the potential for future construction.

Federal OPM Disability Retirement is the option available for all Federal and Postal workers who meet the minimum time and age criteria, in the effort to stem the downward spiral of a dismantling effect upon a lifetime of value, meaning, and teleological progression of building and construction.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire