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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 (43)
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    • Eligibility Criteria (18)
    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (17)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (64)
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    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
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Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: Utilizing those “Tools”

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

To the question, “What disabilities do you have?” or “What medical conditions do you suffer from?” — is often the answer, “I have reached MMI” or “I have been 20% permanently rated”, or even “I am being considered for unemployability”.  These are all good answers — in the proper context, in the proper forum, for the proper administrative procedures.  The old adage, “Everything in its place; everything in its time” becomes applicable in filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.

While such rating decisions by other agencies and entities may be relevant for a particular purpose, within a specific context, for the purpose of the sought-after benefit from a Federal Agency, one must always understand that the administrative procedure known as Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS, for Federal and Postal employees who are impacted by one or more medical conditions, and who cannot perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s particular kind of job in the Federal or Postal System — that there are individualized rules, regulations and legal precedents.

While the tools used in one context, for one benefit, may be adapted and tailored for the Federal Disability Retirement process, the utilization of such tools must be independently assessed, and characterized in an effective, context-valid manner.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Filed under: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM | Tagged: accepting opm disability clients all across america, assessing other disability decisions to your fers disability claim, condition that prevents to perform the essential functions, conditions that prevent performing the essential elements of your fed job, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, deciding what medical documentation is relevant to your opm claim, disability retirement at the USPS, essential elements of jobs, federal disability attorney, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement tools, federal employee disability, FERS disability retirement, fers disability retirement and unemployability, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, legal services for federal and postal workers all across america, medical 'tools' you may use in your usps disability application, medical documentation tools used to prove a usps disability case, mmi doesn't apply to federal disability retirement, nationwide representation of federal employees, no such thing as fers disability rating, not such a thing as an opm disability "ratings", OPM disability application tips and strategies, OPM disability lawyer, OPM disability retirement, OPM First Stage Disability Application, owcp disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, rating decisions and opm disability retirement, representing federal employees from any us government agency, resources for injured federal workers, tools a disabled federal employee can use to prove his or her case, USPS Disability, USPS disability retirement benefits, voluntary immediate retirement for disability and owcp, what other tools I can use to prove federal disability retirement eligibility?, workers comp mmi and fers disability retirement | 1 Comment »

  • More on CSRS & 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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