FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: Belonging

Do any of us, anymore?  When a question is posed, the fact that the posing of the question even occurs, presents an underlying and exposed problem: For, what historical background occurred which prompted the question to be posed in the first place?  When first the credibility of the priest was questioned, was there not a deeper problem which needed to be addressed, to begin with?

There was a time, now forgotten, now repressed in the ages long passed, when the question of belonging never appeared.  One was born in the village of ancestors; the future was encapsulated within the community one grew up in; one’s identity was a part of the greater character of the community; the future was always ensconced within the family, the neighborhood, the town, etc.

There was never a question of belonging; for, to not belong was relegated to those outsiders from elsewhere.  Belonging was a given.  The silence before the question was the norm which everyone understood; and understanding was always passive, without the active question which shakes the foundation of belonging itself.

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 question of “belonging” is a fearful one.  For, the superficiality of the concept with the Federal Agency is well-known: You “belong” only so long as you can contribute a measure of efficient service.

This notion of being a “valuable” employee is based only upon what you did today, and runs no deeper than yesterday’s performance ratings.  Why else would you try and hide your medical condition?

Contact a disability lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the depth of belonging with a Federal Agency or the Postal Service is only as deep as what you did yesterday for them, and once they find out that you will no longer be a member of “the team”, chances are, your “belonging” will be a mere vestige of longing long passed.

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.

 

OPM Disability Retirement Law: Of Difficult Times

Is life a continuum of difficulties, with a punctuated exclamation point when a respite interrupts and pauses?  Or, is it the opposite — of relative calm with isolated islands of difficulties?

Much of history would confirm the former; in modernity, it is the latter perspective which tends to prevail.  And of old men with their stories of hardship — you know, how Grandpa had to walk 10 miles to school and back, against winds of sub-zero temperatures, with no shoes and barely a tattered T-shirt; and how he ate bread and beans once a day, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, etc.

It is true, however, that much of history was focused upon merely surviving on a day-to-day basis — of gathering and preparing for each meal; whereas modernity allows for a greater variety and extent of leisure and entertainment.  But does history reveal that the difficult times of today are less difficult than the days of yore?  Or is it all “relative”, and can we actually quantify what is “difficult” for one person as opposed to another?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a medical condition such that it becomes necessary to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, there is no question that these times are “Difficult Times”.

To ease the difficulty of the entire Federal Disability Retirement process, contact an experienced FERS Medical Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement law, and ease the difficulty of the bureaucratic process instead of compounding the morass of difficulties in these difficult 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.

 

FERS Disability Retirement Law: The Patchwork of Life

It is an appropriate metaphor — of a hodgepodge (even the word itself reflects well the definition) — where the composition is made up of miscellaneous or incongruous parts, yet with the result possessing the potentiality of a fulfilled and even “beautiful” end-product.

The fact that it begins with incongruity and miscellany, doesn’t mean that the final and finished composition must by necessity reflect the unplanned or ill-fitting periods.  Much of life is like that — of spectrums representing imperfect and uncomfortable deluges of pegs trying to fit into round circumstances; but we have to make the best of it, and over time, the problems and frictions will ultimately resolve themselves.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to continue in your Federal or Postal career — perhaps this is another “patch” which must somehow fit into the long list of incongruity.  Well, so be it.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether and how to fit the next ill-fitting piece into the whole of your life, so that when you look back, it will have been the perfect fit in a quilt of beauty.

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.

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Volume of Words

Modernity provokes a society of volume — volume of voices, volume of choices, volume of everything — even of words.  There are no “great words of fiction” in a neat little volume, like Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”; and the short story is a lost art, the last and greatest master of it being from Ireland (i.e., William Trevor).  The art of subtlety has vanished; the single sentence which evokes a plethora of thought and contentment, no longer available.

Volume of words does not replace content of substance — just listen to “talk radio” or the numerous shows on television and you will see that the goal is to “fill the void”, even if the “filler” has nothing substantive to say.  When have you ever heard someone say on a subject, “Oh, I have nothing to say about it because I haven’t given it much thought, yet”?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and must consider preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, your Statement of Disability, the legal arguments you must make, and the medical documentation you must submit — all must rely upon the volume of words.

But such volume must also, by necessity in order to meet the legal criteria for eligibility under FERS Disability Retirement, be compiled and composed with precision, and not merely by a volume of words.  Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and recognize that the volume of words cannot ever replace the substance of content.

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: When Winning becomes a Problem

Winning is always better than losing.  But if a person, entity, organization or body is empowered with the responsibility of merely applying a regulation, a set of rules, a legal analysis, etc. — and is supposed to have no “interest” in the outcome of a case or issue — then “winning” can become a problem.

Whenever people are involved, egos and self-interest are by nature intertwined.  To declare that “X has no interest” in an issue is to try and ascribe an automaton — a mere computer chip with no personal, emotional or other “interest” involved.

One argues, often, that because “X doesn’t get anything out of it, therefore X has no interest involved”.  But having an “interest” can involve more than just the question of whether there is some personally identifiable and quantifiable interest — it can also involve the mere act of “winning”.

In a Federal Disability Retirement case, “winning” can become a problem for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  Even in the face of overwhelming evidence that a Federal or Postal worker is eligible by law to receive Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, the approach taken by OPM of taking sentences out of context, of making irrelevant legal arguments, of overstating the importance of certain issues, etc., reveals and manifests the problem of winning.

To counter that, and to give yourself a greater chance of not finding yourself on the “losing” side of things, contact a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make “winning” a problem for your own side.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

FERS Disability Retirement from the OPM: The Preparation

There is enough success by merely “winging it” — of coming into a “situation” without adequate preparation; of stories where luck just happened to accompany the moment, etc.  The vast majority of “other” success stories, however, are accounted for by hard preparatory work, long hours of training, research, review of the evidence, etc.  Perhaps there are some of those who can walk into a meeting and immediately impress the participants; or to cut short a practice and still dominate on a basketball court or field of play; but in the end, it is the preparation which insures the success of the “after” — of the actual game, the real deal, etc.

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, preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is a necessity which likely cannot be avoided.  It is that first part, however, which will be the most crucial step — of the preparation involved, before the final formulation and filing.

Consult with a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer as the first step in the preparation of your application; for, in the end, it is the proper beginning which always counts the most.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
FERS Disability Attorney

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The formulation

There is, first, the preparation; then, the formulation; and finally, the filing and the waiting.  Are the sequence of steps necessarily separate and identifiable — cleanly bifurcated such that there is no overlapping of concerns?  Of course not; but the three elements in a OPM Disability Retirement application are necessary for the successful outcome of the endeavor.

The “preparation” is often skipped in order to get to the “filling out the forms” portion, which is contained somewhere between the preparatory stage of the process, extends into the formative arena and comes to fruition just before filing, as the finishing touches are placed in refinement of the final product.

The analogies are numerous: of baking a cake — first, one must have a “recipe” (the preparatory stage of the process); then, in between the preparation and the formulation, one must gather all of the ingredients necessary to fulfill the recipe: i.e., the medical documentation; the legal citations to be applied; perhaps other ancillary supportive presentations; the Applicant’s Statement of Disability; and the multitude of other papers which will ultimately accompany the Federal Disability Retirement filing; then, the filing itself — of placing it into the oven and waiting while it bakes to final product.

It is, in many ways, the “formulation” part of it that fails the Federal employee or Postal worker putting together an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset — for, the rush to get it done is often comprised by a furious sense of desperation in gathering whatever medical records can be amassed in the shortest time possible; of quickly jotting down the things “wrong” with you on SF 3112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability; and then quickly “shoving” it into the oven hoping that it will bake quickly and come out well.

Yet, while the “recipe” is important, and the filing is crucial, it is the “formulation”of the OPM Disability Retirement packet — of the putting together in a thoughtful and persuasive manner the legal memorandum which cites the case-law, argues the evidence and providers a “road-map” for OPM to approve one’s Federal Disability Retirement application — that is often overlooked and becomes the unintended nemesis for a successful outcome in a OPM Disability Retirement application.

In skipping over that part —the formulation of a Federal Disability Retirement application — it is likened to that “uh-oh” moment when you realized that you had forgotten to put any butter, milk or other essential ingredients into the cake after you have already put it into the oven.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement Claims: Hypocrisy

What is it about carrying about one’s state of existence with the knowledge that there is a dichotomy between that which we declare and what we secretly harbor, or between the words we convey and the actions we engage?  Is it likened to the adage of, Do as I say, not as I do?  Why do we so relish with a sneer when failure of moral dimensions become exposed — of a priest who is “caught in the act”, the preacher who is seen to embrace episodes of moral turpitude; a moralist who denies the obvious inclinations of human desire, or the purist who pounces when the mere tinge of impurity spreads its imperfect wings?

Hypocrisy abounds, and has always throughout history, and the louder the volume of protestations, the harder the fall as the chasm between reality and the theoretical purity of ivory towers only reveals the baseness of human frailty.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who feel like hypocrites because of a medical condition that continues to be denied, hidden and overcome by sheer will of concealment, there often comes a time where fatigue simply catches up to the fear of being “found out”.  No, it is not quite the same as your run-of-the-mill hypocrisy, like the preacher who falls from grace; but the tension is still there, nevertheless, and it is just as real as if your moral failings suddenly become unconcealed.

Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who have to “hide” their medical conditions and act “as if” everything is fine and dandy, ultimate pay the same or similar price as the hypocritical moralist who walks about with a puffery undeserved: the anxiety that continues to grow and fester remains so and grows beyond a bearable state of concealment.

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 often the first step in an admission of “failure” — but more importantly, of turning that failure into a success, by shedding the cloak of hypocrisy and facing the reality of a medical condition that needs priority of attending, in order to regain that balance that should be first, foremost and in the front of the proverbial line: One’s health.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Information: The fatigue of hiding

That’s the rub, isn’t it — that we spend so much energy trying to conceal it, that by the time the truth comes out, we don’t even care, anymore, and are often glad for the revelation and the blessing of not having to mask it any longer?  Whatever the “it” is that we attempt to conceal, hide, ignore of otherwise fail to reveal, the fatigue of hiding it, the constant commerce engaged in bartering for more time, avoiding a direct encounter or otherwise trying desperately to veil the truth, leaves us exhausted and spent.

Is it, on the other hand, like a John Le Carre novel, where the secret that everyone is attempting to protect is already known by all powers, but the constant struggle to maintain its confidentiality is more for appearance’s sake, and not because of the vital information underlying the apparent need to conceal?

The fatigue of hiding is indeed the exhausting effort being expended for what is otherwise known, or more importantly, wasted upon the known when the value of concealing is far surpassed by the toil engaged.  Medical conditions tend to do that — whether in trying to conceal it from ourselves by downplaying and minimizing the pain and loss of flexion, motion, movement or other numbness of feeling involved, or by attempting to hide it from others, such as employers, family or even friends who show some modicum of concern.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are trying desperately to cling on to their jobs in the Federal Sector or the U.S. Postal service, the fatigue of hiding can be overwhelming.  The factual state of affairs often defeats the continuing attempt to minimize and hide: the extent of LWOP having been used; FMLA already exhausted, and it isn’t even a new quarter; the piles of work being left unattended; and those furtive glances that are no longer established through suspicions of whispers and gossip, but clear rumblings of a Federal Agency that is moving to reprimand, warn, place on a PIP or propose removal based upon non-attendance or excessive use of Sick Leave; these are all clear indicators that the fatigue of hiding can no longer be further delayed.

Preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee believes that the future still holds some hope for remaining at the Federal or Postal job, is an important first step in acknowledging that the fatigue of hiding has come to a critical juncture that necessitates a step beyond hiding it — it is the time of reckoning where the effort wasted upon concealment needs now to be turned into a positive step towards securing one’s future by preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, so that the fatigue of hiding can be turned back into that productive person of greater vitality you once were, and of whom everyone else once knew.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Lawyer Representation OPM Disability Retirement: Perspective versus reality

One may counter that the contrast is no different than that which we encounter daily, especially in this universe of millennials and post-millennial era – of opinion versus fact, or truth versus falsehood (and now the new one, of “news” versus “fake news” or “facts” versus “alternative facts”).  But “perspective” versus “reality” has some subtle nuances that need to be explicated.  For one thing, one’s perspective may be identical to the reality one possesses a perspective upon; or, more likely, it is merely an interpretation that may differ from someone else’s.

One could, of course, argue that all of reality is merely a perspective, and this would comport with the Kantian view that our phenomenological experiences can never depict the “noumenal” universe (Kant’s verbiage) that is outside of the categorical impositions of our human make-up, and that therefore the human perspective is something that cannot be avoided, anymore than a dog’s perspective can be assumed or challenged, or a bat’s perspective (refer to Thomas Nagel on that) would be understood or comprehended by a human’s perspective.

In other words, we can never completely disown the perspective imposed by the innate structures of our own “kind”, and thus it may be an error to ever represent a contrast between “perspective” and “reality” (thus the misnomer of the title above, “Perspective versus reality”), but should always encompass and embrace a commensurate connection of “Perspective of reality” (a consonance of the two) or “Perspective and reality” (a conjoining compatibility of both).

Yet, we know that certain people interpret things differently from what we believe constitutes an accurate portrayal of “reality”.  However, so long as we stay within certain confines of accepted normative interpretations, we rarely contest or openly disagree with alternative depictions, unless it is to obtain a consensus that somehow disproves the validity of the other’s portrayal (i.e., “Yes, but John, Joe and May agree with me”, as if quantification of perspectives somehow diminishes the accuracy of another’s; as opposed to saying, “Well, Copernicus thought otherwise while the rest of the world continued to maintain a geocentric perspective of the universe” – unless, of course, you are ignoring the “rest of the world” to include China, Japan, etc.),

Yet, there are factors that have to be considered when discussing the distinction between “perspective” and “reality”, and one of them often involves medical conditions – an element of reality that often skewers perspective.  That is why, for a Federal or Postal employee who is considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the importance of relying upon accurate information, good and sound legal advice, and a straight and narrow path towards a successful outcome with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (no matter the length of time it may take these days), is important.

For, medical conditions will often alter the perspective of an individual as to the reality of one’s situation, and so it is an “outside” source (the medical condition itself) which needs a counterbalancing force (otherwise referred to as an “objective” advocate, i.e., a lawyer) in order to present an effective, objective, persuasive representative in order to “re-present” the perspective of the Federal Disability Retirement applicant.  Thus, in short, it is a perspective versus reality issue, and thus not entirely a misnomer as previously stated.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire