Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Control Over

There are certain things we have control over; others, merely a spattering of influence; and still others, none at all.

It is often a dictum of life that “happiness” is the capacity to recognize those very categories over which we have control, and those where we have absolutely no control over.  Why?  Because frustration erupts or otherwise builds up around our attempt to maintain control over that which we have absolutely no control over.

Babies and toddlers, we have quite a bit of control over; teenagers, merely some exerted influence; but of adult children who wish to go their own way and ignore the experience of past generations — we have absolutely no control over.  We have limited control over the car we drive — but no control over idiot-other-drivers who also occupy the roads.  We have absolutely no control over the paradigmatic metaphor of sitting atop a mountain and watching two trains below heading at a high rate of speed towards one another on the same railroad track — and it is here that one’s frustration can overwhelm us.

Medical conditions, likewise, are something which we have no control over.  Filing for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management because of a medical condition — well, that is something we have some control over, and it is often helpful to hire an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law in order to exert some greater control over a bureaucratic process which may at first light appear arbitrary, capricious and without any logical sense.

Now, that is the very definition of frustration — of a process which you have no control over, and that is the reason why you should contact a lawyer who specializes in the process of Federal Disability Retirement.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal Disability Retirement Benefits: The Referee

There has always been an endless debate as to the preparatory value of playing sports — does engaging in competitive sports prepare one for the “real world”; do individualized sports (i.e., tennis, swimming, running, etc.) access the same “benefits” as “group” sports (i.e., basketball, football, soccer, baseball, etc.)?

Does “team” spirit, cooperative engagement with others, a sense of “belonging”, of sacrificing for the greater whole, etc., have any benefits in “preparing” one for the adult world of work and capitalism?  Or, does it merely reinforce certain negative instincts which “civilized” society has been trying to expunge for the past century?

Then, of course, there is the question of the referee — the role of one; whether and to what extend bias and favoring is involved; or, whether we should merely rely entirely upon instant replay and other electronic devices?  Should the “human factor” be allowed to rule, or should a game be determined by the precision of a computer program?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition necessitates filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, don’t be fooled into thinking that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is an unbiased “referee” who will make a fair determination on your Federal Disability Retirement application.

Sports (at least the amateur kind) may be for fun and good health, but filing for your Federal Disability Retirement is for “real life”.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and make sure that you have the proper advocacy to win your case.  For, while the “referee” (OPM) may be empowered to make the call of denying or approving your Federal Disability Retirement application, it is your lawyer who advocates to influence OPM to make the “right” call.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

OPM Disability Retirement Law: The Village

On the political spectrum, conservatives scoffed at the idea (represented as a target of a book written by a hated political figure on the left); and liberals constantly embraced the idea, despite repeated labeling of socialism and unwanted interference from others.

The idea of the “rugged individual” as opposed to a cradle-to-cremation nanny state — the conceptual opposites are characterized by the false narrative of extreme choices, of a disjunctive which is no longer applicable, and a failure to have a productive discussion.

Most people actually hold dear the idea of a “village” — of a caring and close community.  On the other hand, most people also want the opportunity to be able to become “successful” without the burden of over-taxation and government interference.  Can both be concurrently established?  Can a balance be attained?

Federal Disability Retirement is a paradigm for that balance.  For, while it pays an annuity to the Federal retiree based upon a disability which prevents him or her from performing one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal job, yet it allows for that individual to remain productive and go out into the private sector and make up to 80% of what his or her former position currently pays.  It is a system whereby “the village” allows for both — an annuity from the “nanny state”, and an allowance to remain productive and “successful”.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not you can qualify for entrance into the Village.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal Employee Medical Disability Retirement: The Award of Not

People today receive accolades for all sorts of things — including, just for being “normal”.  The “Father of the Year” award is given to an individual for just doing what he is supposed to be doing.  A return of a lost item of personal value, or a wallet found in the parking lot — we are all amazed at such honesty.  The term “hero” is bandied about loosely, and applies to everyone and anyone who does what he or she is supposed to be doing.

The ordinary has become the extraordinary, and the negation of a negative is seen as a positive (of course, we all did learn in fundamental mathematics that two negatives = a positive, so to that extent, it is correct).

Performance reviews, too, are given high ratings, even when a Federal or Postal employee is barely making it.  In a Federal Disability Retirement case, this is often argued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as a negative when applying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  Here, the Award of Not can be a detriment.

How to counter it?  By establishing the medical incompatibility between one’s medical condition and the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and learn how the Award of Not can be accepted without being made out to be a hero one is not.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employees with Chronic Medical Conditions: What to Do

It is the universal question which confronts us all: The next steps; how to react; what sequence of actions to take; and, in the end, it also involves any verbal or written responses, as well.  For, the “doing” part can involve both actions and words.

From the little boy confronting a bully who asks the question, “What are you going to do about it?” — to the adult who is faced with a crisis which may involve other family members, where the question is somewhat altered: “What are we going to do about it?” — the answer is not always clear; the response, not always known.

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, “What to do” is the question posed, the problem confronted.

We are never expected to know everything, although all of us would like to think that we have an answer to most of life’s problems.  But this is a unique circumstance, a special order, a confrontation of unknown proportions.  And when you are faced with the unknown, it is best to contact someone who is experienced in the “What” and the “Doing” in response to the “what”.

Contact a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of confronting the “what” — as in, What to Do?

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Long-Term Disability Retirement from Federal Government Employment: Incompatibility

It is essentially the “fourth” criteria in a Federal Disability Retirement case — the first three being, whether or not a Federal or Postal worker can show to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management a deficiency in performance, conduct or attendance.

Unfortunately, the performance-review system is often one of an afterthought — of Supervisors and Managers giving “Outstanding” or “Fully Successful” ratings for all employees just to get through the process and avoid the headache of an appeal or grievance response.

So long as the Federal or Postal worker is healthy, such favorable performance reviews are great.  However, when a medical condition hits a Federal or Postal employee, and the need arises to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, then that is the time that such favorable performance reviews are scrutinized and used against you by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The argument goes thus: Your Agency says you are doing such a good job; so, how can you now say you cannot do your job?  It is that fourth criteria — one of incompatibility — which often forms the foundation for filing a Federal Disability Retirement application.

Contact a FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of determining whether you meet the criteria to qualify for Federal Disability Retirement benefits with OPM.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Permanent Disability Retirement from Federal Employment: The Importance of Relevance

How does one determine “relevance”?  Relevance, in the end, is the logical connection established within a context of something being said or done.  We know it when its opposite is exposed — as when a person begins to speak extemporaneously and wanders off beyond the confines of the subject at hand.

There are consequences to irrelevance: Students begin to skip classes when lectures focus upon the irrelevant; meetings become lengthy acts of boredom; movies, books and other mediums lose their audience; and the focus of whatever is being done or said becomes lost in a maze of peripheral non-issues.  The importance of relevance is defined by the unimportance of irrelevance; we know the former when too much of the latter is infused.

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, the importance of relevance at all levels of preparing, formulating, filing and appealing one’s OPM Disability Retirement application cannot be overemphasized: Contact an attorney who specializes in the area of Federal Disability Retirement Law and make sure that your FERS Disability Retirement application is based upon relevant information, and not the superfluous inanities which can defeat your purposeful focus — of obtaining an approval of your OPM Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Retirement from the OPM: The World in Chaos

Watching the news, one witnesses a world in chaos.  Yet, for many, there is very little difference between a personal life in chaos and a public world in a similar state; the distinction is without a difference.  The objective world is merely a reflection of the inner disorder of lives innumerable; the walking psyche that views the universe through a lens of an unhinged universe merely provides the punctuation to sentences already made meaningless; the commas inserted merely makes for greater pauses.

Medical conditions, too, tend to do that — create a chaos out of order, disorder from seeming calm.  Yet, for Federal and Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the chaotic life of losing one’s career and livelihood is just as “real” as the chaotic upheaval of a world gone mad.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider whether a FERS Disability Retirement may provide some stability for a future yet uncertain.  For, it is out of chaos that order can come about, and a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer may be able to provide some semblance of calm in a world that seemingly has lost its bearings.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Coming to Terms

It is when we avoid it that we fail to come to terms.  Often, we already “know it” — if by knowing, we mean that we were aware of the facts, that we had a sense of the “it” coming to fruition.

We somehow believe that, so long as we do not state it, or ignore it, or perhaps just refuse to ponder upon it — that then, reality doesn’t force us to come to terms with the “it”, whatever it is.  It is often a subtle psychological device, a gamesmanship of avoiding the obvious.  Major life decisions are often involved in the process of refusing to come to terms: Of the end of a marriage; of a death of a loved one; of a change in one’s circumstances; of a medical condition.

Medical conditions are often life-altering.  They force us to give up certain activities we have engaged in all of our lives; they mandate a change of dietary habits; they alter forever our own self-image.

For Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents you from any longer performing one or more of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job, consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.  Before you move forward on filing a Federal Disability Retirement application, however, consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law — for, that may be the first step in coming to terms with a future yet uncertain, but nevertheless offering some hope.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Internal Order, External Chaos

Whether the cult of Marie Kondo will last beyond a faddish response and 15 minutes of fame, only time will tell.

Japanese minimalism lends itself to making order out of chaos by discarding unnecessary clutter in one’s life.  The key word here is, of course, “unnecessary”, and how we categorized which items in our homes and offices to keep, and to what extent external chaos impacts one’s internal sense of order in this universe.

Does organizing everything in one’s home and office lead to greater internal calm and peace?  Does a person who has an overstuffed bookshelf — with books “arranged” in every which way upon a shelf, with no apparent order in the categorization of titles possessed — reflect a manner of internal chaos?

Conversely, does a person who appears to posses a sense of internal peace and order necessarily have a home and office which reflects that apparent order and peace?  Does the interior world of a person necessarily indicate the exterior state of one’s life?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition that impacts his or her ability and capacity to continue in the Federal or Postal career of choice, the chaos of a medical condition — whether of an “external”, physical condition or of an “internal” psychiatric break down — should lead to a consideration in filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Consult with a Federal Disability Lawyer who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not the order of the day through proper representation by legal counsel might be the best course of action for both internal order as well as external competence in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire