Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Bailiwick of Time

Time tends to incrementally, insidiously, and imperceptibly creep up and, with a sudden shudder of fright, present itself in a crisis of thought. Whether we control it; to what extent we are slaves to it; all that we can do is manage it, and to recognize that the bailiwick of time begins within our own minds, extends to the world around us, and ends when nightfall and the slumber of silence overtakes the heavy-laden eyelids to lead us back into the abyss and recesses of our own minds.

Waiting fails to extend the objective existence of time; procrastination merely kicks the proverbial can down the pathway where all things accumulate and aggregate, until time runs out and a crisis ensues. When a statute governs a legal or administrative process, that circle of authority must be followed, unless one is prepared to try and argue a narrow exception which may or may not allow for the extension of a deadline. That is indeed a strange concept of foreboding: time tied to a “deadline”; it evokes images of cessation, termination, and end to survivability.

For Federal and Postal Workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the bailiwick of time begins to run; not only with respect to the necessity of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management but, more importantly, if the Federal or Postal Worker is separated from service, that Federal or Postal Worker has only one (1) year from the time of separation to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

If that one-year Statute of Limitations is not met or complied with, you lose your right forever to file for the benefit. In days of yore, if a wrong was committed or violated, the bailiff was sent out to enforce the law; for the Federal or Postal employee who procrastinates, it is the bailiwick of time which will come in the stealth of night, and impose itself before one is even aware of the steady march of life’s linear and inevitable watch, and confine the violator to the law of limitations.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Control Factor

Procrastination is Man’s feeble attempt to control the inevitable march of time.  In the midst of a technologically complex world, where we no longer control the advance of events or circumstances which impinge and invade upon our lives, the subjective cocoon we weave to withstand the onslaught of uncontrollable external subjugations will take many and varied forms.

Time, events and actions occurring daily around us continue in their linear course of unfolding revelations without input or necessity from the individual; technology advances without any particular reason or rationale; or so we believe.  But by delaying, we delude ourselves into thinking that we are Masters of our own destiny.

Such an attempt at controlling the inevitable onslaught of that which we have no influence over, is tantamount to an impotent protestation, nothing more than a juvenile “sit-in” like children refusing to eat their carrots or broccoli, although at least in those examples the elements resisted were purportedly healthy for us. What we often fail to understand, however, is that the very attempt to control is often that which is harmful to us.

For the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, there is often a long and deliberate delay between the onset of a crisis resulting from a progressively deteriorating medical condition, and the preparation, formulation and filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application.

This is the natural course of things.  For, the very factors over which the Federal or Postal Worker has no control over — time, the medical condition, one’s deteriorating health — all serve to impart a sense of loss of destiny.  But to delay and procrastinate will only exacerbate the inevitable; Federal Disability Retirement through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, is the best step to reach that oasis of rehabilitation and quietude.

But like the child who knows not what is good for one’s self, it is often the rebellious and feeble attempt of Man to control that which is beyond one’s control, which potentially results in the downfall and destruction of one’s future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: Excuses

Language is the vehicle by which self-justification is established.  Think about it; if we assume that there is a conceptual void in the mind of other animals, that the consciousness of a squirrel, a raccoon, an owl, etc., is devoid of language as we employ it, then how can procrastination or delay occur?  It is precisely language and the tools of conceptual constructs which provide for an “excuse” for response to a stimuli, and allows for human action to be prevented.

The will to act or refrain from acting is often considered the hallmark of higher intelligence; but intelligence itself can be a detrimental quality, allowing for self-destructive actions resulting from a string of illogical but persuasive reasonings.  Where lack of intelligence provides for the immediacy of response to a presented encounter, so the presence of it in elevated forms will allow for justifying delays to such responses, even if it means a magnified danger to one’s own survival.

Excuses and self-justifying declarative sentences allow us to maintain a false sense of security by providing foundations for continuing on a path of self-destruction.  That is precisely why the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a progressively deteriorating medical condition can maintain a semblance of normalcy despite physical and cognitive indicators to the contrary, sometimes for months, and even for years.  But pain and cognitive dysfunctions have a funny way of reminding the body and mind of danger signals.  Brain synapses communicate the growing danger, and they continue to alert until the time comes when no more linguistic justifications will maintain that false sense of security.

When that time comes, the Federal or Postal worker must consider the option of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

There is always time for being excused, and sometimes it is well-justified; then, there are other times when the exhaustion of excuses comes to a crisis point, and one must consider a different path.  That “different” path is the need to have a restorative period of recuperation in order to attend to one’s impending medical condition.  Federal Disability Retirement, under FERS or CSRS, is just that allowance for recuperation, and is a path of difference for many Federal and Postal employees.

There are excusable considerations, which last for a time; but time is a linear movement of bodies, and on the universal scale of progression, there comes a point when both time and excuses run out their course of self-justifying efficacy.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Early Medical Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Cocoons

A cocoon both insulates and protects; it allows for the entity inside to feel a sense of security, and provides a veil which prevents “outsiders” from seeing in.  Homes for humans provide a cocoon; thoughts hidden in the recesses of one’s mind constitute a metaphorical cocoon of sorts; and the conscious and deliberate covering up of a medical condition will allow for a temporary preservation of one’s privacy, until such time as manifestation of symptoms can no longer be concealed.

For a time, temporary measures can be effective:  writing short notes to oneself can compensate for short-term memory problems; taking leave in targeted ways, allowing for 3-day weekends so that one may have the recuperative period in order to recover from impending exhaustion and profound fatigue can alleviate and be a palliative measure; timing the ingestion of pain medications and other prescribed treatment modalities can insulate and provide the cocoon-like security of privacy.  But in the end, the progressively deteriorating medical condition will often require a choice; for, even the inhabitant of the cocoon must leave the relative security of the insulation at some point, or perish by remaining.

For Federal or Postal employees needing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the choice to take the steps necessary to begin the process will often be delayed so long as the cocoon can be maintained. Waiting too long, however, can have detrimental reverberations.

Look at the insect world; they offer greater wisdom than what we give them credit for.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OWCP Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees? Beware the Lull of Complacency

Monotony is a state of being which we often criticize, yet unintentionally seek; for it is that hiatus of quietude which allows for thoughtful reflection, and recuperative islands of serenity, which serves to prevail upon an otherwise maniacal universe of a fast-paced technological world of smart phones, email, and the constant drone of machinery and demands of the modern decalogue.

But the problems inherent with the calm of normalcy is that it serves the unwanted plate of complacency; and it is precisely the latter which then results in procrastination, a sense that things can wait until tomorrow — until that tomorrow leaves us in the throes of yesterday.

And so it is with Federal and Postal employees who remain on OWCP/Department of Labor benefits, where the luxury of being paid 66 2/3 % if without dependents, and 75% with dependents, provides for that period of life when nothing moves and everything remains static, while one attempts to recuperate from an injury or occupational disease.  But as one remains in that island of calm, the world — and time — continues to march on (do the young of today fully understand the metaphor of time in this digital age where the rhythmic constancy of a ticking clock is no longer heard?).

The Federal or Postal employee might receive a notice of separation from Federal Service, but since the OWCP payments will continue, not think twice about such mundane consequences.  But Federal Disability Retirement benefits must be filed for within one (1) year of separation from Federal Service; and when the hiatus of OWCP benefits is suddenly terminated, the world of monotony may turn upside down into one of unintended turmoil, unless a “back-up” system of benefits was applied for.

Reflective moments are a positive thing; inaction for too long, however, often results in atrophy — a state of being which is never a positive one.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Postal and Federal Disability Retirement: The Insidious Tragedy

Progressively deteriorating medical conditions comprise a category of tragedies which are especially insidious.

Automobile accidents; natural disasters; even airline catastrophes; such dramatic events, while shocking and tragically devastating, seem to encompass calamities of epic proportions equal to the turmoil of modern times.  But the quiet tragedies which are unheard of — the insidious nature of chronic pain, debilitating migraine headaches, overwhelming Major Depression, anxiety, panic attacks which paralyze one’s ability to engage in employment in a minimally functional manner; progressively degenerative spinal diseases; diffuse pain through Fibromyalgia; and similarly such “quiet” calamities, are especially insidious because, more often than not, there is no proportional visual confirmation of the suffering and tragedy.

Such private calamities are what must be adequately conveyed to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management when preparing and formulating a Federal Disability Retirement application.

When a “public” catastrophic event occurs, people tend to search for the picture which matches and confirms the described disaster; but when no such visual confirmation is available, there is often a suspicion that the event itself never occurred.  It is this visual-centered universe which makes for the insidious nature of chronic pain — for how can one confirm the latter?  What picture would provide the wanted affirmation?  It is always the quietude of a private catastrophe which is exponentially magnified in its tragic components — for lack of sympathy, devaluation of empathy, and a question as to the sincerity of the one who suffers.

That is precisely what must be overcome in preparing, formulating and filing for FERS Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Clarion Call that Never Comes

Medical conditions are often subtle in their subversive impact — a slow, progressively deteriorating manifestation, characterized by pain, depletion of energy and stamina, and with manifestations of symptoms which may not be immediately noticeable with a passing glance.

Most of us meet and greet each other with hardly a glance; of “hello-how-are-yous” as polite niceties which are never meant to be seriously responded to; and in the course of such brief human contact, would not know — nor care to be informed of the details — of how a person truly “is” in the context of his or her life, medical condition, or well-being.

For the Federal or Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, being ignored at work by one’s peers, coworkers and supervisors may have become a daily and expected occurrence.

In Medieval times, a clarion call represented a clear and loud trumpeting announcing an event, a call to action, or perhaps the arrival of someone of significance, relevance and importance.  For the Federal or Postal employee who may have to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, an expectation of an analogous call may never come, should not be waited upon, and likely will not occur.

Quietude is the pervasive norm in a society which is impersonal and unable to address each other with compassion or empathy.  Don’t expect a clarion call to be the focal point in deciding to act upon one’s medical condition; it is a call which will likely never be trumpeted, nor heard even if made.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Worker Disability Retirement: The Tentacles of Time

Time and the negation of time is a concept which is virtually impossible to conceptualize, precisely because any thought about the concept necessarily requires the human mind to be present in the thinking process of the issue.

Thus, to consider a moment prior to the beginning of time is an intellectual act of futility, as such thought necessarily requires the imposition of one’s own mind in the moment of timelessness.  But if one grants that time must somehow involve motion, and that without movement of objects or thought, the very concept itself would become meaningless, then one can begin to comprehend the negation of time, and the requirements of such circumstances (e.g., a void, total darkness, inertia, etc.).

In the stages prior to consideration of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is this state of inertia — of waiting for some movement, an indication of improvement of one’s medical conditions; of some change in circumstances, or the vain hope that things will alter for the better, which ultimately becomes damaging.  For, lack of movement or progress, in retrospect, is often the very loss of valuable time; and loss of time, when taking into account the further lengthiness of the process it takes just to prepare a Federal Disability Retirement case, then to wait for OPM to make a decision, only exponentially magnifies the time lost during the period of inertia and indecision.  The tentacles of time tend to take over the tendency to procrastinate.  Sometimes, a decision to move in and of itself is invaluable.

Deciding to file for OPM Disability benefits is a major, life-changing event; to remain in a state of inertia and negation of time is also a similarly profound event; it is just that, because there is no discernible motion of objects, it just appears as if time is standing still, when in fact the world around us continues to zip forward.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Supervisors, Performance, and Other Matters

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS (although the latter is increasingly becoming a rarer animal, almost to the point of extinction, and has been recently annotated on the “endangered species” list), the concern of many Federal and Postal employees often centers around past performance reviews (a history of “outstanding” performance, etc.), the potential statements of the Supervisor on an SF 3112B, and similar issues.

What the Federal or Postal employee contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits fails to understand, is that the reason why he or she has reached that critical juncture where Federal Disability Retirement must be considered, is tied directly to that long and commendable history of outstanding performance.

To put it bluntly, the Federal or Postal employee who has done his or her job so well over the years, has killed him/herself in doing it.  That is why the medical condition has not improved; that is why the progressively deteriorating process, whether of a physical nature or of a psychiatric bent, has reached its critical mass, and one cannot go on in the same manner, any longer.

It has come to a point of a necessity to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  It matters not what one’s history is; if one cannot perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, then it is time to file; regardless of what one’s performance history is, or what one’s Supervisor’ Statement may potentially reflect.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Jump from Theory to Application

Language is an anomaly; as an intermediate tool, it can spur action; as a direct means of causation, it can have an immediate impact (as in argumentation and persuasive rhetoric), or merely appear to do so.  We all know of people who incessantly talk; of things planned; of goals dreamed of; and when one sees such grandiose narratives in a child, it reflects admiration because of the motivating factor and the positive effects of language-to-world connection for the future.  But when an adult speaks without the correlative productivity of real-world application, one begins to wonder.

The beauty of language can be in the very spoken word; yet, language without application can merely result in beauty to be admired, but subject to withering over time, and a deterioration which ultimately concludes in waste.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, there is the danger of procrastination, of allowing for the “talking” about filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, to dominate the actual preparation and practical steps to take. Because medical conditions are subjective in its penultimate sense — i.e., while it is “real”, it is possessed by the subject to whom it impacts — the very act of “talking about it” can create a false impression that something is being done in the very act of talking.

In the modern age, where updating one’s Facebook is considered a substantive accomplishment in life, one can deceive one’s self by talking about filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM.  But there is a difference and a distinction between “talking about X” and “doing X”.  And when the collision between language and the real world come into contact, through (for example) agency termination proceedings, refusal to allow for any further LWOP, or other agency actions, then the conceptual distinction between theory and applicability becomes pronounced, and sometime irreversibly so.

There is a time for thought, reflection and words; there is also a time for action; and the chasm between the two should never be confused.  When the time comes to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM, thoughtfulness needs to convert to actionable steps of pragmatism.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire