There is, to begin with, the “perfect image” — that which we hope to project; those which appear on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook postings; and further, the public domain of our selectively chosen, carefully manufactured and manicured condescensions of carved lives.
The imperfect image is that which haunts us; it is the opposite of what we wants others to know about us; the very antithesis of what society allows for and deepens within the fears of our psyche where nightmares begin to boil over, anxiety begins to percolate, and stress-induced heartbeats rise to the level where dangerous palpitations lead to sudden onset of a terminal feeling.
The latter feeds upon the former. It is precisely because the former exists that the latter becomes the illegitimate child of a figment of an unreality, and yet gnaws and destroys despite everyone’s recognition of its impossibility. It begins perhaps with the age-old theological arguments — of the query, How can man have a concept of perfection unless there is such an entity that exists?
The classical counter-argument has often been: Well, we are able to imagine 3-eyed monsters with green-colored tentacles, are we not, even though they do not exist? And the counter to the counter-argument was: Yes, but that is merely a matter of the imagination amalgamating all of the separate components — of 3 different eyes; of the color green; of tentacles like an octopus’ appendages; then, by creativity of the mind, to put them together.
Thus does one imagine perfection because there is such a Being as a perfect Being; and from that, Man views himself, sees the inadequacies and determines his or her own sin— unless, of course, you are on Facebook or Instagram, in which case you are the Being of Perfection itself…at least to all others who view you on such mediums of communication.
It is from that held-concept of perfection that when the early rash of imperfections begin to spread, we think in error that life is no longer worthwhile, and the despair of a false belief begins to pervade the inner psyche of our private lives.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, where the medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the sense of despair and hopelessness often begins with the manner in which you are suddenly treated by others — by coworkers, supervisors and managers — where your imperfections are suddenly highlighted.
You are no longer as “productive”; your attendance becomes “unacceptable”; you begin to make too many “mistakes”; you are deemed less than “perfect”. The reality is that there is no such thing as perfection — only a concept forever unrealized but put forth falsely into the arena of public consumption.
The imperfect image that we hold onto — of a deteriorating body or stress-filled mind that begins to show wear and tear over the years — that is merely the reality of who we are: Imperfect beings, frail and fraught with error and (used in the old-fashioned way) filled with sin.
For the Federal employee and Postal worker who comes to the realization that imperfection is a reality not to be ashamed of, preparing, formulating and filing 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, is not merely an admission of such imperfection, but rather, a facing of a reality that we all must embrace — of the imperfect image surrounded by false notions of a perfection never to be realized.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: air force base civilian employee with medical impairments, alternatives after owcp appeal second opinion, appealing an unfavorable decision from the opm with a top fers disability retirement lawyer, attorney law blog federal disability retirement questions, attorney serving disabled federal employees in massachusetts, cervical herniated discs letter carrier attorney, changing from owcp to csrs or fers disability retirement benefits, chronic anxiety because of hostile work in federal employment as a basis for early retirement, csrs disability retirement forms, dealing with a reduction of force in usps employment, dealing with an inquiry to present employer to verify records of employment and health condition, department of defense medical benefits early out lawyer advice, don’t give up with a first denial of medical benefits from the opm, early out from post office medical incapacity, effect on pending medical retirement claim of resigning from permanent gov position, experienced usps postal attorney representation in long term opm disability claims, federal agent medical retirement lawyer, federal employee excessive medically related absences lawyer, federal employee medical retirement lawyer, federal employment resignation form for disabling conditions, federal government leave policy for ptsd, fers attorney helping leo employees qualify for permanent med retirement for physical or mental impairments, fers claim denied now what’s next?, fers disability attorney serving civilian government employees in butler pa, fers disability retirement attorney, fers disability retirement lawyer serving philadelphia area, fers disability retirement process and attorney, fers medical documentation for retirement, fers medical retirement for special agents in the federal government, filing a complaint against workers compensation in eeoc for denying benefits, fitness for duty examination postal employee with arthritis, getting additional medical evidence for the opm medical retirement appeal, harassment in post office by management and stress leave, how often can you file a schedule award claim for opm hearing loss after disability retirement, how to explain the effects of depression to opm with the assistance of a fers medical retirement attorney, how to get federal disability based on depression, impingement syndrome qualify for permanent disability through opm system, is a good idea to resign while under a proposal to remove from federal service for medical reasons, light duty disability for federal employees, light duty policy when unavailable for off duty injury federal government employment, list of accepted disabilities opm see explanation medical conditions link, looking for resignation example from federal employer due to disabilities, ma federal disability retirement lawyer, medical retire federal leo attorney, medical retirement at post office with help of experienced private usps attorney, mental conditions postal service incapacity opm pension, modified job assignments medical limitation postal attorney, opm disability retirement case managers in first two stages are not lawyers, opm form 3112 medical retirement law office, opm hostile work environment guidance for federal employees with pending medical pension applications, opm hr extended sick leave needed, opm regs on light duty, owcp appeal second opinion, partial disabilities postal employee, pennsylvania fers medical retirement attorney, pennsylvania fers medical retirement lawyer, quitting federal employment due disabilities, reduction in force for government disabled employees, rehab postal employee benefits attorney, secop owcp harassment and the option of opm medical retirement for civilian federal employees, sf 3112 disability application package, termination proposal of postal employee with disabilities without opm pension benefits, using sick leave before resigning federal employment for disabilities, usps disability retirement process, usps proposed terminations on disabled employees, usps regulations on light or limited duty, usps rehab lawyer, what about if there is no light duty for off work injury?, when hostile workplace causes depression in the federal government workplace, work comp long term medical retirement shoulder impingement syndrome, your options if owcp denies benefits for a medical condition which predated fed employment | Leave a comment »
Federal Disability Retirement: The Ledger of Life
The Ledger was once that oversized binder which recorded the economic transactions for various purposes — of maintaining income and outlays; of keeping an accounting of various details in one’s life, whether of activities in business or even of one’s habits and patterns of existence. Somehow, it doesn’t seem the same as typing such information into a computer, or of buying a software that categorizes and makes everything neat and simple.
That old Ledger that had to be lugged from one place to another reflected the weight of seriousness just in the act of lifting it; and when you opened the front cover and turned the pages where the latest entry still emitted the scent of ink still drying, one sensed the permanency of recordation as a trait of relevance that could never be erased.
And what of the metaphor — of one’s “Ledger of Life” — a recordation of the transactions that one has engaged; of the weightiness of that placed on one side of the ledger as compared to the negative notations appearing on the opposite side; of the image of St. Peter as the gatekeeper reviewing the annotated columns to determine if you “made it” — all because “The Ledger” reflects the value of your actions during the course of a lifetime?
Do we even think in those terms, anymore? Or, while the dusty old books that used to be kept beneath the wooden grains of counters in dark and dank workshops were left behind when first the technology of modernity made for obsolescence of such anachronistic record keeping, did we then just revert to making mental notes for the things we did or did not do?
Most of us, if asked if we are “eligible” to pass through St. Peter’s exclusive club, would respond thus: “Oh, all in all, I have been a pretty good person and so, Yes, I believe I would qualify.” And so we approach most things in a similar vein: We give ourselves a “pass” and believe that the Ledger of Life would favor our eligibility status.
And so it is with Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer form a medical condition and need to file for FERS Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Because you suffer from the medical condition and believe that the medical condition cannot but be proof of eligibility, so you believe OPM cannot but see what you see. But filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is a paper-presentation to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.
It is very rare that any Federal Disability Retirement application is a “slam-dunk” case, or even an “easy” one; and like the Ledger of Life that we have left behind in the dusty heaps of bookshelves long forgotten, preparing an effective FERS Disability Retirement application is not just a simple transaction to be annotated into columns of neat book keeping, but a bureaucratic process that must be proven and argued for — somewhat like the Ledger of Life that must be submitted to St. Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer | Tagged: advise from opm lawyer on disability retirement physician statement, after the usps disability denial insufficient medical documentation, atrial fibrillation fers medical retirement attorney, attorney serving disabled federal employees in massachusetts, awol for medical reasons federal employment, biased disability reasonable accommodation committee in post office and what my options are, dealing with inaccurate information on standard form 3112d with an attorney a board, dealing with supervisors negative comments on request for fers disability retirement, degenerative disc disease on postal employee, disabilities bop retirement benefits, disability leave for postal employees, disciplinary actions and disabilities discrimination fers attorney, disciplinary actions for awol medical leave fers lawyer, documentation needed to show usps disability retirement, federal employee disability retirement attorney serving in arizona area, federal employee disability rights under fers, fers application for immediate medical retirement, fers benefits if resign for physical or mental impairments, fers opm boise Idaho retirement attorney, fitness for duty examination postal employee with arthritis, forced fers medical retirement by us postal service, free first time consultation with fers lawyer, harassment in post office by management and stress leave, how to resign from the postal service if I have a disabling condition, ice owcp medical retirement benefits lawyer, if a usps employee is terminated for mental stress but the excuse by management is criminal misconduct, law blog on tips to complete sf 3112 attorney for federal employees, looking for resignation example from federal employer due to disabilities, ma federal disability retirement lawyer, mdd help with depressive condition in federal employees, medical documentation needed to show or prove usps medical retirement, mental conditions postal service incapacity opm pension, mental disabled designation criteria in the usps, modified job assignments medical limitation postal attorney, office of personnel management retirement csrs disability, opm advanced sick leave denial considerations, opm definition hostile work environment for retirement purposes, opm lawyer for help in fers disability retirement process, opm medical retirement for lumbago and low back pain, opm schedule of rating disabilities, paperwork to file for fers disability and expert advice, postal employee terminated unfairly mental stress and anxiety, postal service letter to sign for disabilities, postal service ps form-50 termination proposal for excessive sick leave, power of attorney signature in fers disability attorney contact attorney mcgill first first time consultation is always free, qualifying for a disability retirement under opm fers, removal medical inability to perform federal position attorney, resignation not advisable fers medical retirement lawyer, resigning from federal service health reasons, separation from federal employment medical inability to perform position chores, supervisors at postal service creating a hostile environment for usps employees, suspension of disabled employee fers disability lawyer, terminated from government employment for physically inability to perform tasks, termination proposal of postal employee with disabilities without opm pension benefits, unfair termination of usps employee for misconduct but real reason is mental stress, usps owcp disability retirement forms after workers comp nurse’s return to work, when advance sick leave is denied in the usps what can I do next?, when dealing with federal medical retirement forms know what law says you need to prove, when sedentary postal positions for light duty won’t work, when you are being surveilled and harassed by postal inspectors while on owcp, workers comp with usps long term sickness, working while filing federal retirement disability | Leave a comment »