One suspects that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management “plays the odds” and finds that a certain percentage of the population will accept at face-value the stated basis of a denial of a Federal Disability Retirement application, regardless of the lack of substantive basis for such a denial. And, indeed, there will be a segment of the population, within the entire universe of Federal and Postal employees who submit a Federal Disability Retirement application, who will simply feel discouraged, and simply give up.
This is precisely why, in many administrative processes, there is an automatic first-level denial.
FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement is somewhat different, and one would assume that there is no internal mechanism of automatically rejecting a submission at the initial stage of the application, because the merits of each case should be determined at each stage of the process.
Nevertheless, it would be “prudent” for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to take such an approach, if only to test the determination and seriousness of each applicant. This is not to allege that such an approach is deliberately engaged in by OPM; rather, whether on a valid basis or not, there is nevertheless the likelihood that a certain percentage of Federal Disability Retirement applicants who are denied at the first stage, will simply walk away, not fighting for a benefit which they may well be eligible for.
And, of course, “walking away without a fight” is certainly an option for everyone; not a very viable one, and one which should not be recommended. The sad part, of course, is that the very basis for not having “the fight” to contest an OPM denial, is often the same basis for which the Federal or Postal worker filed for Federal Disability Retirement benefits in the first place: the medical condition itself, and the debilitating manifestations which have weakened the human spirit to persevere.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Postal & Federal Employee Attorney
Filed under: When the OPM Application Is Denied | Tagged: becoming discouraged during opm disability process, discouragement as part of the opm's strategy, discouragement or second thoughts too often defeat a federal disability application, don't get discouraged if the opm denies you disability at first, fighting for your rights after a disability and a long career with the us government, frustration when dealing with office of personnel management bureaucracy, giving up the opm disability fight too easily, if the opm clerks pre-determines your claim denial, if the opm doesn't have a real reason to deny your disability, is the american way to give up after losing the first round of the federal disability process?, legal help after first application denial, opm decision denying disability benefits, persisting in your efforts to get fers disability retirement with the office of personnel management, reasons and excuses the opm uses to deny fers disability, reasons why the opm can deny disability application, should I quick my federal disability retirement filing after the first denial from the opm?, the federal disability applicant's frustration after the first rejection, the strong "tendency" that the opm has to reject many federal disability applications, thinking twice before giving up on your opm disability retirement benefits, tip for the unrepresented opm disability applicant: never give up, understanding how the opm works when reviewing fers disability applications, usps denial of injury compensation, what happens after you have been denied your rights to retire for medical reasons, when giving up is not a choice for a disabled federal employee, when the opm disability applicant gets discouraged, why federal and postal employees with disabilities should not give up their pursue for disability benefits and retirement, why the opm seems to deny many disability applications in the first round of the "fight", withstanding the selective reasoning of the opm for denying a claim | Leave a comment »
Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Responding to Stupidity
Sometimes, one’s initial reaction in a situation — professional setting, social discourse, event gathering, etc. — requires a momentary pause; and it is precisely that couple of seconds of gathering one’s thoughts which saves one from further putting fuel upon a potential fire.
Perhaps you have every right to have responded with a drip of sarcasm; or others would have approved of the lashing back; and still others would say that the response was appropriate and deservedly given. But the greater question should always be: how effective was the response; did it evoke the necessary end; and for whose benefit was the aggressive retort given — for the benefit of truth, or for one’s own satisfaction?
In a professional context, of course, it is probably never appropriate to respond in an unprofessional way, if merely by definition alone. Similarly, in a FERS or CSRS Federal Disability Retirement context, when one receives a denial from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, there are statements made — whether one pertaining to mis-application or mis-statement of the law; or perhaps a wrong reference to a medical report; or even more egregious, a selective use of a statement from a medical report or record taken out of context — which can deservedly provoke a response involving sarcasm, a deluge of epithets, or worse, a barrage of ad hominem attacks — and in each case, it would be neither appropriately given, nor proper in a professional sense.
Fortunately, paper presentations and paper responses have the advantage of time over social discourse and person-to-person contact.
Holding one’s breath and counting 3 seconds, or 10, or perhaps an eternity, is an effective way of avoiding catastrophe. Writing a diatribe of what one wants to say, then trashing it, is also acceptable. On the other hand, beware of that “send” button; and, moreover, never push that “send to all” button.
That would indeed be unprofessional.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Process - 2nd Stage: OPM Reconsideration Stage, When the OPM Application Is Denied | Tagged: a rational response to an unreasonable letter of denial opm benefits, an effective federal disability retirement application, an effective written communication to the opm, an individualized response to your fers disability denial, an understandable emotional response to an irrational fers disability decision, applying old-fashioned ethical principles in the second stage of the federal disability retirement process, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, denial of fers disability benefits and the proper response, effective personal skills when dealing with supervisors, emotional comments won't always help to get opm application approved, federal disability attorney, fers disability retirement and effective communication, how to respond to a federal disability retirement denial, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, legal effectiveness in government disability claims, legal help after first application denial, legal services for federal and postal workers all across america, nationwide representation of federal employees, one key ingredient for a successful fers disability claim: effective communication, reflecting on emotional tone from the legal angle, refrain from fast and emotional responses when opm denies your disability claim, representing federal employees from any us government agency, resources for injured federal workers, Responding to an Initial Federal Disability Retirement Denial of Benefits, response to denial of opm disability retirement benefits, Second Step OPM Appeal, the 2nd fers disability stage is still an administrative process with the opm, the date of the denial letter and responding to a denial of opm disability benefits, the dreaded denial letter, the effective way of presenting one's opm disability case, the federal disability retirement application with an emotional tone deep inside in the objective medical language used, the opm case worker at the second stage of the federal disability retirement process, the role of the applicant during the second stage, the second stage opm representative, using some emotional content in your fers disability application, USPS disability retirement, we may be talking about emotional issues or medical documentation -- but never forget the nexus | Leave a comment »