Tag Archives: federal employee not fit for duty and what are his options

FERS Disability Law: Mantel and Mantle of Sadness

By either word, it relates to the significance of the emotion, and where it is placed — or remains — in one’s daily life.  Is sadness placed for prominent display upon the mantel of your existence?  Or, do you cloak yourself with the mantle of sadness, and walk about each day with it tightly wrapped around you?

Other characteristics can also be applied — as in the medical condition which one suffers from; the daily pain which one experiences; the panic attacks, depressive moods, and heightened anxiety which cannot be avoid, impacting the ability to perform one’s essential duties in one’s Federal or Postal job.

Is it time to take the medical conditions down from the mantel, and by doing so, shed the mantle which impacts and pervades all aspects of your life?

Federal Disability Retirement is a benefit available to all Federal and Postal employees under FERS, who have a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service.  Whether it is the mantel or mantle of sadness, or the mantel / mantle of a medical condition which needs to be attended to, you should contact a FERS Medical Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and see whether or not you, as a Federal employee, may be eligible for a Federal Government benefit you deserve.

For, in the end, however we try and escape or avoid life’s difficulties, it is the mantel of our own making, or the mantle we choose to enshroud outselves in, which will make all the difference.

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.

 

OPM Disability Retirement for Federal & Postal Workers: Worlds Apart

It is a phrase which is oft-used to describe the distance still to be traversed when negotiations break down; but more generally, it reveals the differences between people, ideas, countries and cultures.  There are, indeed, many different worlds — of countries; societies; of the internal “world” by which we live — our thoughts, cares, conceptual lives and pondering narratives.

So long as the inner world by which we operate is consistent with the “objective” reality of the Kantian “noumenal” universe, we are deemed sane and left alone.  It is when the distance between the objective world and our own world of thoughts becomes too disjointed, overly separated and — worlds apart — that we are deemed insane or otherwise disconnected from reality.  The key is to maintain a semblance of worlds knit closely together, lest becoming worlds apart leads to falling apart.

That is what filing for Federal/Postal Disability Retirement is all about — of keeping one’s universe from becoming worlds apart, or from falling apart.  Medical conditions separate one’s private world of pain, suffering, depression, anxiety, etc., from the “world” of one’s Federal or Postal job. Federal Disability Retirement is that bridge between Federal or Postal employment and termination from that world because of a medical condition.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest your application for Federal Disability Retirement is denied and remains worlds apart from a successful Federal Disability Retirement filing.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Postal and Federal Medical Retirement: The Difference

Perhaps it is large and expansive; or, of such a thin, frail line that one can barely notice it; in either case, it is that difference — large or small, wide or thin, statistically insignificant or clearly discernible — that makes the difference.

How important is it to you?  What are you willing to invest in the difference in order to make the difference a difference of relevance?  What level and extent of a difference will make it significant enough that the difference will be the difference between success or failure?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition which prompts the necessity for filing an effective FERS Medical Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is important to have that “advantage” and “edge” in increasing the chances of a successful application.  The difference will likely be the lawyer you choose.

Contact a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer who has made a difference in the lives of countless thousands of Federal employees and Postal workers, and enhance your chances of a successful outcome by preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee’s Medical Retirement: A Perspective on Truth

The traditional philosophical arguments surrounding the nature of Truth, the “battle” between “Absolute Truth” and “Pure Relativism”, etc., are too often simplified and reduced to sloganeering and shouting matches which end up being nothing more than accusations as to whether one believes in a Higher Order of Being — or not.  Yet, it is often a perspective upon appearances which determines the “truth” of a statement.

Plato pointed this out in reference to the three towers in the distance; if seen from one direction, they appear to be only one; if seen from another, they constitute 3 distinct objects.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in denying a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, takes a similar perspective on truth.  They will take each medical condition cited, isolate each and minimize the impact of the separated medical conditions upon one’s ability or inability to perform the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position, and by approaching the “truth” this way, can purport to make your case appear “as if” you never had any case at all.

Now, some might critically argue that such an approach is “disingenuous” (i.e., somewhat akin to the “absolutist” argument), while others merely view this as “clever” (i.e., akin to the “relativists”).  The point of OPM’s approach is to make you believe that you never had a chance to begin with, and to have you go away without filing for Reconsideration, thus reducing their caseload by a numerical insignificance until multiplied by an exponential factor of greater percentages.

The way to counter OPM’s argument?  To identify their approach and counter it with a different, more powerful perspective on truth — by further medical documentation and more powerful legal argumentation which makes OPM’s argument impotent and irrelevant.

For, in the end, a perspective on truth must be countered by proposing an alternative perspective on truth — of showing that the three-towers-in-one is a mere illusion and a trick of the eye.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The Fight

Not everyone relishes one.  Yet, the challenge comes about often when we do not expect it, when our proverbial defenses are down and we cannot muster the energy to properly engage it.  For children on the rough-and-tumble playgrounds, it can be over in a matter of minutes, where a few black eyes, a scrape and a bruise may be the worst of it.  For adults who actually engage in a fist fight, more serious consequences may ensue, and beyond hurt egos and wounded pride, there are laws against assaulting and battering.

But there are many other forms of “fighting”; of neighbors squabbling over overgrown trees which cross fence lines; of public debates and shaming; of aggressive trolls on the Internet.  Time was where once there were unspoken “rules” (like no hitting below the belt; no scratching or kicking, etc.), but with all-out “mixed martial arts” and other forms of unfettered fights, it seems that the art form (if there ever was one) is gone, and the only thing which matters is the outcome.

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 “fight” is against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and fortunately for those who engage in this fight, there are rules by which all combatants must abide: The Statutes, Rules, Regulations and Case-Laws that circumscribe and dictate how the fight must be implemented and managed.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and find out what the rules are governing Federal Disability Retirement Law before you are in the “thick of it”; for, you do not want to have been taken unawares by a sucker-punch before you know what to expect.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Stress of the Moment

From a distance, we can all handle stress.  It is that time and removal from the moment that makes all of the difference, is it not?  Afterwards — after the explosive anger, the sudden quietude or the paralyzing fear — we reflect and wonder as to what created such a stressful reaction.  Or, years later, one may recall that it was a moment of “something”, but rarely remember the exact details as to what prompted or triggered it.  It is often the combination of multitudes of factors: Too little sleep; overworked; a sense of isolation; a feeling that no one around you really cares, etc.

Then, when a medical condition enters upon the scene, all other factors tend to become exaggerated, magnified and exacerbated.  One’s health and deteriorating medical condition always adds to the stress.  It is like the old adage about a fish not realizing that it is swimming in water; when we have our health, we barely recognize it; when we lose it, it becomes the focal animus of our daily lives.  Without our health, there is no “stress of the moment”; rather, every moment is a stressful experience.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it is time to consider filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in order to reverse the course taken — that of going back to experiencing the stress of the moment, as opposed to living a life of unending, unendurable and eternal stresses throughout each and every waking moment.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: Perspective

Some would argue that it is the basis of everything; that, how we view life, the world around us, the predilections we bring to the table, etc. — it “colors” how we approach and, ultimately, how we live our lives.

At the foundational level, it brings to the fore the question, “Is the cup half full, or half empty”?  Do we wake up and face the world with a smile, or with a frown?  How do we approach problem-solving: As a challenge, or as a groaning addition to that list of difficulties we must face?  How much childhood and upbringing has as an influence upon one’s perspective is arguable; or of the age-old question, Is it Nature or Nurture?

We all have good and bad days, but it is the long-term perspective which matters most.  We live lives constantly harried and seemingly without purposeful intent; from one crisis to another, and just to maintain our standard of living or keep our heads above water, afloat upon a sea of troubled waters.  Through it all, it is our perspective which ultimately soothes and guides, like the sails which catch the westerly winds and allows for smooth sailing even during those times when the heat of the day may seem like an unbearable period of directionless ineptitude.

Keeping a positive perspective is difficult in a life filled with difficulties, and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, the future may sometimes appear bleak and eternally negative.  Who was the wise person who stated, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a while. It’ll change”?

Consult with an experienced attorney about filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS; while getting a Federal Disability Retirement annuity may not change your life, it may alter your perspective such that the future may shine with a glimmer of hope.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Vital Signs

We tend to take them for granted; yet, when an emergency arises, they are the first indicators we search for in determining whether and to what extent the concerns are justified or not.

Vital signs — whether of pulse, heartbeat, breathing or consciousness — are like left and right turn indicators that forewarn of an impending action, and when they weaken or disappear altogether, it becomes an event with traumatic consequences.  For the most part, vital signs are overlooked and are forgotten about.  We do not go through a normal day worrying about our pulse, or our heartbeat, leaving aside our consciousness; for, in the act of taking such things for granted, we assume that our capacity to live, work, eat and play in themselves are signs of conscious intent, and therefore can be ignored.

Vital signs are vital only in the instance of an emergency, when the question itself emerges as to whether that which we presume to be the case no longer is, or is doubtful as to its existence.  But life is more than the aggregate measure of vital signs; its quality must be measured by the compendium of circumstances, what we do, how we see ourselves and what hopes for the future are collected and maintained.  Vital signs are merely those “basics” that are taken for granted; but beyond, there is the question of one’s quality of life.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition impacts upon one’s quality of life precisely because work is a constant struggle, one’s health is a persistent problem and where one’s personal life is overwhelmed with fatigue, pain and misery, consideration must be given to file for Federal Disability Retirement.

In the end, life is more than checking to see if those vital signs exist; in fact, it is vital to life to have a certain quality of life, and that is what Federal Employee Disability Retirement is all about.

Consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law to see whether you may qualify for a benefit which is intended to return the vital signs back to a state of presumed existence.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Medical Disability Retirement Attorney