Federal Disability Law Firm: The Fear of Change

The concept of a person, of what constitutes the differentiating identity of person X as opposed to Y, or multiple others, derives from the Greek etiology of “persona” — of actors on a stage wearing costumes and masks, and able to portray a certain character in mostly tragic narratives entangling gods, men, love and jealousies.

It is those differing masks which we put on — of the joyful father, the loving husband, the implacable worker, the tireless servant, and so many others — which in their constituted composite, represent the personhood of who we are.  It is also, sadly, the interference and uncontrollable crisis which begins to fracture and break apart the very essence of being of a person.  Medical conditions have a tendency to do just that. For, the pervasive and insidious nature of a medical condition crosses the lines of the multiple masks which we wear, and begin to sully the demarcations and sharp divisions of character.

For the Federal employee with a disability who must consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal employee or Postal worker is under FERs or CSRS, the invasive intrusion, unsolicited, unwanted and uncalled for, of a medical condition, may involve the sudden realization that priorities must be reordered and reorganized — not the least of which, work, the mission of the agency, and the divergent interests of what is best for one’s self as opposed to that of the Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service.

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement benefits allows for the recapturing of one’s personhood when it is most needed; and while every Federal employee and Postal worker who suffers from a medical condition must still put on various masks in playing the role of life, it is the one born of tragedy which must be put aside, by filing for OPM Disability Retirement benefits in an effort to change the inevitable conclusion of a Greek tragedy.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Applicant Tendency

An applicant or potential applicant for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS exhibits tendencies which can range on a wide spectrum of behavior, thoughts, fears, actions and reactions.  Some individuals believe that his or her application is so self-evident and self-explanatory, that all that is necessary is to obtain the medical records, list the diagnosed medical conditions on the Applicant’s Statement of Disability, file it, and…  When the Denial letter appears from the Office of Personnel Management, there is the surprise and shock, and the:  “I thought that…” 

Then, there is the other extreme of the spectrum, where there is an almost irrational fear that unless every ache and pain is detailed in long, explanatory narratives, and pages of pages of “personal experience” diary-like formatted chronologies are submitted with the packet, with tabulated references to justify each and every medical experience from two decades before until the present, that the Office of Personnel Management will deny the application.  Remember this:  It takes just as short a time to deny the first type of application as it does the second.  The Office of Personnel Management does not read through any materials which it deems “superfluous“.  Somewhere in the middle between the two extremes is normally the correct balance.  Or, as Aristotle would say, it is important to achieve the mean between the two extremes.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire