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OPM Disability Retirement: Agency's Power

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

I hear it in both the content of the question and the anxiousness in the voice of a potential client seeking representation to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS:  Can the agency influence the application negatively?  Can they terminate me upon learning that I am seeking disability retirement?  Can they stop me from using my sick leave?  The power of the Federal Agency can be overwhelming, but there are limits as to what “influence” they can have over a Federal Disability Retirement application. 

Ultimately, good or bad, the Office of Personnel Management is the agency which makes the determination on an approval for all disability retirement applications, and as I have written in many articles in the past, the best way to “neutralize” the power of an agency is to prepare the medical aspect of the Federal Disability Retirement application in an excellent manner.  This is done, first and foremost, by garnering the support of the treating doctor, gathering the best medical evidence possible, etc.  Other actions of the agency — of attempting to place you on AWOL, or filing an adverse action during the process, can normally be stopped by an attorney experienced in Federal Disability Retirement laws.  Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS is not just a matter of filling out forms; it is a matter of securing the future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Agency, OPM Disability Application - SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement for CSRS and FERS, OPM Disability Application - SF 3112D Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts for CSRS and FERS | Tagged: "AWOL" for medical reasons, administrative actions against federal employee, adverse actions after rehab worker files for federal medical retirement, adverse actions while in OWCP, adverse agency reaction, agency actions against federal employee, agency hostility after federal disability application, agency's influence on the opm disability claim is limited, agency's influence versus power to grant opm disability, CSRS disability lawyer, disability retirement from the USPS, disability retirement usps, doctor supporting disability fers, doctor's statement for fers disability application, federal disability is not determined by agency that employs you, federal disability message boards, federal employee turning over medical evidence to the opm, FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement Blog, fers disability determination made by the opm not the agency, FERS disability retirement, FERS medical retirement, filling out an application form versus getting disability benefits, how to counter a negative influence of the agency in opm disability, if your agency will remove you for being unable to work, importance of the narrative report on opm disability, medical evidence submitted to the opm for disability purposes, medical retirement and usps, medical retirement from federal service, OPM disability attorney, opm disability determination, opm disability law and the preponderance of evidence concept, OPM disability retirement, opm disability: a form filling or a legal process?, opm sick leave, physician's statements in an OPM disability case, possible agency's reactions to your opm disability filing, postal service actions against the postal worker, Postal Service disability, reasonable medical determination, strong and irrefutable medical evidence, supporting substantial medical evidence to OPM, the most important requirement for opm disability retirement, usps disability benefits, USPS disability retirement, when the agency tries do whatever it can to deny opm benefits | Leave a 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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