FERS Disability Retirement: This Post-Factual World

If facts don’t matter, then how is it that every side of every issue declares it to be the case that the “facts favor my side”?  The moment we allowed for the validity of the argument — that there are “alternative sets of facts” — the entire structure of rational discourse crumbled.

However you want to call the foundational basis of the Western Philosophical traditions — of the Socratic Method; Rational Discourse; The Adversarial System: The Dialectical Method of Argumentation, etc. — it was always based upon a number of propositional assumptions, including:  A.  There is ultimately only one “Truth” with a capital T;  B. that, even if there might be some subsets of smaller “truths”, they all become subservient to the greater recognition of “The Truth”, and  C. Once all contestants recognize this, no matter how arrogantly we want to resist, we must concede the existence of the greater Truth over the lesser ones.

Schopenhauer was reported to have stated that there are no real lies, but rather, only “crippled truths”, but one wonders.  Russell, of course, countered with his mischievous statement, and with one stroke dismantled the age-old Correspondence theory of Truth with that nonsensical proposition:  “The present King of France is bald”.  As there is no kind of France, he cannot be bald, and yet we all understand the rationality of such a statement, don’t we?

Yet, never let this Post-Factual World fool you into believing that in all areas of life, in every arena of discourse, in fullness of words — that facts simply “don’t matter”.

For example, for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a chronic medical condition such that the medical condition impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s daily attempt to make a living — i.e., continue to work in his or her career of choice with the Federal or Postal system — don’t ever think that “facts don’t matter”, because they matter very, very much.

Contact a lawyer who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, and don’t let this Post-Factual World deter you from the importance of arguing your unique set of facts to OPM.

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.

 

Federal Disability Retirement Law: Goodness in Dark Times

It is the famous question brought to the fore by Hannah Arendt and others in the aftermath of WWII.  The trial of Eichmann brought some clarity to the issue; of the banality of evil; of the trial of human goodness in contrast to questioning the existence of evil.  Faith was said to be lost in the aftermath; for, how could a God who purports to be pure goodness, allow for such evil to dominate?

Camus warned of humanity’s descent into further darkness; that the mass concentration camps were not the end, but merely the beginning of wider and more ferocious depravity.  The question really was never how there could be goodness in dark times; but rather, why or how there could be goodness at all.

Since WWII, modernity has strived — albeit, rather in a fumbling and ineffective way — to reeducate children to engender greater empathy for one another; to stamp out (or at least, divert) man’s inherent “evil” within; to try and prevent the predilection towards violence, etc. Then, of course, the Internet was created; Social Media exploded (or imploded); the pandemic exponentially heightened; and the rest is history — of dark times in greater numbers; the selfishness of the ultra-wealthy; the rise of autocratic regimes and the reemergence of greater evil.

In the end, it is not the question of goodness in dark times which matters, but rather, how to extend, to the extent possible, some iota of goodness within the times we live in.  Laws, in the end, and the abiding of laws, are the only hope we have.

For Federal and Postal employees needing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under the current Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, goodness in dark times is defined by the ability to manage your life despite the dark times.  Chronic medical conditions can be overwhelming and appear to present a period of unending dark times in your life.  Fortunately, the laws governing FERS Disability Retirement provide some amount of goodness and point to a brighter future.

Contact a FERS Medical Retirement Attorney, that is a legal expert who specializes in Federal Worker Disability Retirement law, and consider that there is still some goodness in dark times.

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.

 

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Law: Societal Perfection

Anselm’s Ontological argument for the existence of God is dependent upon a crucial conceptual construct which, if and only if accepted, works.

It is the concept of “perfection”.  For, if existence — or, “to be” — constitutes the satisfying minor premise of the definition contained in the major premise, “That than which nothing greater can be conceived of”, then the question is: Do we necessarily have to agree with the societal construct of what “greater” means or, similarly of what “perfection” must entail?

Most ontological arguments must include some acceptance of what “perfection” entails — of the query involving, “How can an imperfect being possess a concept of perfection unless that perfection exists?”

But when it comes down to the details of what we mean by the term “perfection”, we find ourselves in squabbles of circular argumentation.  Societal constructs of perfection — or, of even lesser norms, like what is a “good” citizen, a dedicated worker, a loyal individual, etc. — often gets us into trouble, especially when such a definition becomes the basis for a self-harming viewpoint.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, continuing to work despite harming your own health is often insisted upon because of our distorted view of societal perfection.  We hold onto the societal construct of what it must mean to be a dedicated and loyal employee — i.e., the societal definition of perfection — until we die of exhaustion in trying.

FERS Disability Retirement through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a counter to that — it is a recognition that you should not have to work in a job which is harming your health.

If you are no longer able to perform all of the essential elements of your position with the Federal Agency or the Postal Service, contact a disability lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits and begin the process of defying the false construct of societal perfection.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer specializing exclusively in FERS Disability Retirement Law

 

OPM Disability Retirement benefits: Misjudging Yourself

It is not an accident that most people are unable to accurately assess or evaluate themselves, their circumstances or the road forward.  Look at Plato and his magnum opus — The Republic.  Therein lies the hoax of unfettered hubris — of the declaration of who should be the ruler and king?  None other than the Philosopher — or, more humbly put, Plato himself.

Are we the best judge of ourselves?  All of us have a tendency towards seeing ourselves in greater or lesser degrees which fails to reflect reality.  To compound the problem, we also rarely appreciate criticism or outside evaluations which do not comport with our own self-assessment.  Yet, in most serious circumstances, that is precisely what is needed — an objective accounting of a given situation; the alternatives available or potentially open; the solutions possible; the road forward.

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, the need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a given; but the assessment in the strength of a case, what is needed to bolster the chances of winning against OPM and the requirements to meet the legal criteria — those issues should be handled by a competent disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

For, as the patient as well as the Disability Retirement Applicant, you will likely misjudge yourself because you believe that your medical condition — by which you suffer so much — should automatically qualify you.  However, that is not how OPM sees it.

Contact an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and avoid the pitfall of misjudging yourself, and allow the Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer make the crucial assessment and evaluation of your case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
FERS Disability Attorney

 

Postal & Federal Employee Disability Retirement: OPM’s Selective Exclusion

The danger of attempting to present a specific viewpoint is that one almost always engages in selective exclusions — sometimes inadvertently; most times, deliberately.

Selective exclusion involves a 2-faced lie: A. You selectively choose to include only those statements, quotations, references, etc., which support your viewpoint and (B) concurrently and in a parallel manner, you exclude those statements which might support or otherwise strength the opposing viewpoint.  A third — often unspoken — component implies the following: Truth is not the guide; rather, winning an argument is what prevails.

Now, if a person, entity, organization or agency is supposed to be “objective” about a matter, such deliberative intent to proceed in a biased manner makes it all the more poignantly unacceptable.  Yet, that is exactly what the U.S. Office of Personnel Management does when denying a Federal Disability Retirement case — of engaging in selective exclusion in justifying its position of denying a case.

How to rebut and answer such an approach?  By including all that was excluded, and arguing the law — which, by the way, OPM also selectively excludes.

Contact an experienced lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of answering the selective exclusion engaged in by OPM.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer
Postal & Federal Employee Retirement Attorney

 

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Retirement: Ostensibly

Apparently; on the face of it; in all appearances.  Isn’t that how OPM views all medical disability retirement cases?

It is as if the “medical specialist” opens each file before reviewing it, with a notation under his or her breath, of: “Ostensibly”.  And so the challenge is on — of persuading from the presumptive world of the “Ostensible” to the world of approval where appearances are turned into reality.

How does one do that?  Why are some Federal Disability Retirement applications more persuasive than others?

Of course, there will always be the “irrefutable” cases; then, some cases which fall in the “probably no chance” category, simply because there is not enough medical evidence to persuade; then, as with most cases, somewhere in the middle kingdom where the coalescence of medical evidence, the law, agency actions or inaction, with a dash of concurrent and parallel legal issues must be all taken into consideration in their aggregate evidentiary presentation.

Ostensibly.  By all appearances.  That is the challenge — to persuade OPM that the ostensible is the real.

Contact an OPM Disability Retirement Attorney who deals only with OPM Disability claims, and begin the process of putting together an ostensibly viable Federal Disability Retirement case and turn it into the reality which brings about an OPM approval.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

OPM Disability Reirement under FERS: Dylan Revisited

The British have the Beatles; America has Dylan.  Martin Scorsese’s ongoing documentaries covering the life of Bob Dylan (“No Direction Home” and “Rolling Thunder Revue”) reveals the obvious differences as well as depicting interesting tidbits of entertainment value, for those even remotely interested.

Dylan is the quintessential American — of the lone troubadour; the composite of a self-made star from multiple personalities, including Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie and Muddy Waters; and despite playing off and on with “The Band”, forever the loner — remote, distant and undefinable.

Bands come and go — The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc., and when they disband and disburse, some individually go on to similar heights of fame; but of Dylan, he has always stood apart with his soulful voice, his trance-like story-telling, and the enchanting universe of words conveyed on the airlift of music that brings one into a lyrical fantasyland.

In the end, Robert Allen Zimmerman remade himself from the outskirts of a rural town into the spotlight of musical genius over a span of a time when cultural revolutions were shaking the very foundations of a country at war.  We all yearn to be like him — if not for the fame, then for the uniqueness that becomes apparent when you listen to his voice: Not quite on beat and never able to be defined.

Whoever “Zimmerman” was, we will never know; for what we know is the folklore surrounding even the whispered utterance of “Dylan” — a name and word which provokes images, stories and memories that have cluttered the shadows of a legend like the barnacles encrusted on the underside of a drifting boat.

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 tragedy of the medical condition can be likened to the duality found in Dylan Revisited — that the person who is beset with the medical condition is not the same person who once forged ahead with a promising career with the Federal Government or the U.S. Postal Service.

Consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law; for, in the end, the Dylan of today is not the Zimmerman of his past, just as the Federal or postal employee who suffers from a medical condition is not the same person as before the medical condition, and the whole point of filing for Federal Disability Retirement is to get back to a place where we can define ourselves within the uniqueness of who we are and were.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Retirement for Medical Incapacity: The boxes in Standard Forms

For some forms, it is a convenience to have a restrictive, limited “box” in which to put the “x” into, or maybe the needed “Not Applicable”; others, however, try and contain a limited narrative and force succinctness into the standardization of answers.  That is all well and good, and perhaps from a bureaucratic standpoint and perspective, the conformity of forms and the mandatory “answers within a box” makes for streamlining of paperwork.

The reality, however, is that some questions cannot be answered — and more importantly, should not — within the proposed space allocated, and so you have two (2) choices: decrease the font size in order to fit a greater substance of the narrative within the provided box, or attach a continuation sheet despite no indication in the standard forms for allowance of such cheekiness of presumptuous creativity.

How does one identify which Standard Form should be prepared and completed within the confines of standardization, and which ones should not?   First, a conceptual identification should be applied: Which ones are merely “informational” that request only singular answers, and which forms make queries that compel for narrative answers?  Once that initial, identifying bifurcation is made, then the next step is to determine whether an adequate and sufficient response can be stated within the “box” provided within the font-size allowing for regular eyesight that does not require extraordinary magnification, or if a continuation sheet is necessary.

Thus, in a Federal Disability Retirement application, certain Standard Forms are merely informational — for example, the SF 3107 series which asks for basic, factual information.  Then, of course, there is the SF 3112 series, and especially SF 31112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability.

For the Federal employee or the U.S. Postal worker under FERS, who is considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the greater mistake has often been to quickly annotate within the boxes provided a swift “jotting down” of the medical conditions one “feels” — as if the body parts providing temporary sensations for a given day, or even the lack thereof, will sufficiently satisfy the eligibility requirements that must be met in order to become approved for a Federal Disability Retirement annuity.

Make no mistake about it: there can be dire legal consequences if SF 3112A is not completed properly and sufficiently.  And always remember the philosophical dictum: That which is necessary may not be necessarily sufficient, and that which is sufficient may not be sufficiently necessary.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Medical Retirement for Federal Employees: The chaos of life

Of masochism, there are indeed some who purport to invite the chaos of life, and actually enjoy it, relish in it and thrive in it.  Its opposite is considered monotonous, lacking of artistic content and without the excitement of unpredictability.  Yet, even those who thrive within the chaos of life will often need that period of respite, whether with a quiet moment of reflection, a night of reading beside a crackling fire, or just dozing in front of the drone of a television.

EMT personnel often require such a personality trait; firemen, law enforcement officers, and nowadays, teachers, professors and other educators, if only because the chaos that unruly and undisciplined children, teenagers and young adults bring into the classroom.

Perhaps it was a childhood upbringing; it is often said by learned psychologists that battered people tend to themselves batter upon reaching maturity, because they find solace in the comfort of that which they are familiar, and so the behaviors they learned and were imprinted upon as a child are the very patterns that are comforting; and thus does the vicious cycle of life – such as the chaos of life – recur and regenerate, only to imprint the same cycle upon the next generation.

Those who sincerely crave the very opposite – of a regularity in monotony of patterns predictable in their characteristic of non-change – are often criticized for failing to be able to “deal” with the chaos of life, and so the argument goes that those who thrive upon the chaos of life are better prepared for the vicissitudes of life’s misgivings.

Medical conditions comprise a sort of chaos of life, but whether one is “well-prepared” for it or not, it is something that must be “dealt” with.  It is, in the end, doubtful whether a person’s life prior to the entrance and introduction of a medical condition can adequately prepare one to “deal with it”.

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 the Federal or Postal job, part of the process in dealing with such a chaos of life is to prepare an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

In such a case, instead of dealing with the chaos of preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application yourself, you may want to consider hiring an attorney who specializes in such legal matters.

In this vast universe that includes the encumbrances deemed the chaos of life, we must all make choices as to which portion of the chaos we want to personally handle; for, in the end, the chaos of life, how we handle it and what benefit accrues from it will all be determined by the outcome of the event – and for Federal and Postal employees, that outcome-based perspective is the resulting approval by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on a Federal Disability Retirement claim, where once the approval is obtained, the chaos of life may be turned into a respite of relief.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Attorney Representation Federal Disability Retirement: Unremembered

It is a strange concept that encompasses a sequence of duality in the willfulness of the mind – first, to recall, to bring out from the cognitive closet of one’s mind, a vestige of that which was once lost.  Then, the act of the “un” – a negation which abandons that which was once rediscovered; to cast aside and set away an image, a piece of knowledge or a conceptual relic once recovered but now, with deliberative intent, to throw it back into that back room collection where things reviewed have been considered but found to be unworthy to keep in open exhibition.

Thus, there is a linear duality of sequential negations: Once known, then forgotten; remembered and thus retrieved for review, and finally in the domino of cognitive acts, to deliberately engage in the “un” – to unremember that which was once reenacted and reengaged mentally.

It is, then, a deliberate force of the will to consciously engage in an act of self-engagement, and to extinguish like a flame once rediscovered in banishment to complete darkness.  The concept itself is reflective of life’s travels, where we engage daily living and become too involved in the process of advancing in our careers, bringing up kids as best we can, and forget the enjoyment of life itself, until one day we pause, look up from the ground that keeps moving under and behind us in our rush to constantly move forward, and ask the disturbing question:  What is this all for?  Why am I doing all this?  What is the purpose of all of this?

And then we remember: that youthful exuberance where dreams once lived, now deadened in the unresuscitated state of disrepair, when the world was still but an uncultivated terrain to be explored and conquered.  Then, we saw the potential not only of what could be accomplished, but of our own roles in the betterment of society.  We had once known; then, in the busy turmoil of life, we forgot; and then again, we remembered.  Once remembered, we smile, put on a brave face and move forward again – unremembering again by sheer willpower so that we can again “do” instead of becoming stagnant in the constant ruminations of a negation that requires the final step of “un”.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition is keeping the Federal or Postal employee in that step preceding the final engagement of the will to “do” by being stuck in the “un” world, the next step in the sequence to move forward is to begin to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

For, it is the unremembered life that gets beyond the forgetting and the retrieval, in order to get to that step beyond – especially where a medical condition is involved.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire