FERS Medical Retirement from OPM: Elevating Silliness

Much of the political rancor of modernity is silliness, and the insularity of our lives — of engaging in social media discussions, thinking that serious conversations can be engaged on Smart Phones and computers, etc. — is the elevating of such silliness.

Then, when a hurricane hits an area and devastates a population, we realize that there are actually real and serious issues facing us which transcend politics and the rancor of disputatious irrelevancies.  There are, of course, many issues which continue to deride their seriousness by non-action and inaction, such as the growing national debt, the inflationary impact of unfettered spending, etc.

But then, the very fact of inaction and ignoring of such issues so that any resolution or attempted legislative corrections are merely “punted down the metaphorical and proverbial road” for future generations to deal with — well, that in and of itself, is elevating the entire process to a level of silliness unheard of.

One area of seriousness which should never be elevated as silliness but is nevertheless so often done, is the protection of employee rights.  Federal Disability Retirement Law is one such area, and everyone should consider it a sacred law to be protected and secured.

It is part of the “employment benefits” which all Federal and Postal employees enjoy; and while it is taken for granted — most Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers never even think about it because, when you are a healthy individual enjoying the fruits of your labor, you naturally do not concern yourself with “what ifs” — it is there for you to access it when and if needed.

If you are a Federal or Postal employee with a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service, and you find that you can no longer perform one or more of the essential elements of your job, contact an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Health is one of those issues which can never be silliness to be elevated, for it is the essential fibre of one’s life.  And while we can often distance ourselves and look up the elevated silliness which pervades our society — especially in politics — we can at least all agree that health is one subject which is neither silly, nor needed to be elevated.

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 Medical Retirement: Between the Particular and the Universal

There is always a distance between the particular and the universal.  In syllogistic logic, a universal can never be derived from a major and minor premise proposing particulars.

You cannot argue that because Harry down the street wears blue pants, and Joseph next door wears green pants, that therefore the whole world wears either green or blue pants.  You can, however, argue that Since all men are mortal, and Socrates is a man, that therefore Socrates is mortal — deriving a universal from a Major Premise which is universal, a minor premise which is particular, and ending with a conclusion which is universal.

Effective conversations often go that route — between “kitchen-table talk” and more generalized conversations which avoid the particulars, lest such personalized conversations lead to acrimonious, seemingly-confrontational and unpleasant exchanges.  Talks with your kids have to thread the fine line between accusatory admonitions and seemingly harmless, more generalized analogies.  That’s why the Bible cautions one not to provoke one’s children; for, overly particularized conversations become too uncomfortably provocative.

There is thus the twilight between the particular and the universal, and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who want to prepare an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a fine line and a delicate balance must be implicated between the chasm separating the particular and the universal.

What is identified as the Twilight between the two must be cautiously maneuvered through.  Too much information in the particular can defeat a Federal Medical Retirement case.  Overly emphasizing the universal — the statutes and the laws governing every Federal Disability Retirement case — without the backdrop of the particulars of one’s medical conditions, can likewise defeat a Federal or Postal Service Disability Retirement claim.  That delicate balance must be achieved — of the Twilight Between the Particular and the Universal.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and thread the delicate line within the Twilight between the Particular and the Universal.

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 Law-Shield

The Law can be used as either or both: Whether as a “sword” (in prosecuting a case, whether in criminal court or of initiating a lawsuit for money damages) or as a “shield” (as in the Constitutional protection against self-incrimination, or otherwise keeping certain tainted evidence away from the judgment of a jury); or, as often is the case, the use as both shield and sword during the life of a case — it is meant to be both, depending upon the context of a case.

As a Law-Shield in a Federal Disability Retirement case, the benefit of eligibility should be reliably based upon certain “givens” — i.e, given that a person has accrued a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service; given that the medical documentation establishes that the Federal or Postal employee can no longer perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties; given that the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has already been approved, etc. — in other words, once certain eligibility criteria have already been established, the Law-as-Shield should already protect the Federal Disability Retirement applicant from a denial by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In reality, of course, the Law-Shield doesn’t work so easily, or automatically, and that is when the Law-as-Shield must be affirmatively applied as a Law-as-Sword, and pointed out aggressively by a Federal Attorney who is experienced in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Contact a FERS Lawyer who is experienced in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of using the Law — whether as a Shield or as a Sword — to assert your right as a Federal employee and your entitlement to FERS Disability Retirement benefits.

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 for Federal & Postal Employees: Pegged

It normally has a negative connotation; rarely, a positive one.  One is not found to be “pegged” as a brilliant X or as a gentleman (or woman); rather, the “pegging” that occurs is more often than not of a reputation of denunciation.  X is pegged as lazy; Y as a shirker; and once identified as such, you are the outsider, the non-member, the one who becomes ostracized and tagged with suspicion and contempt.

Funny, how empathy may have preceded it; but then, empathy only lasts for so long in human beings, as patience is indeed a virtue which cannot withstand the test of endurance.

Federal and Postal workers who have a medical condition may have evoked some sympathy from coworkers, supervisors and the Federal Agency’s managers — for a time.  But after a short period of an empathetic response, you are expected to “rejoin the team”, as the saying goes, and get back to “accomplishing the mission” (as another saying similarly goes).  Otherwise, you are pegged as “that one” — the one who creates a burden for the rest of the Agency because your work must be taken up by others.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who must file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS because you have been pegged as “that one”, consult with a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.  Being pegged is one thing; being terminated or placed on a PIP is quite another; and if either are in danger of occurring, you will need to take the next step and take the chance that you might be pegged as a Federal Disability Retirement annuitant.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement under FERS: First Steps

Why are first steps so significant?

When a toddler takes his or her first steps, we applaud, celebrate with loud amusement and put forth encouragement and “positive feedback” to the momentous episode which, days later, weeks hence and years post, we don’t even consider it to be of significance and yawn with boredom at something which previously had been touted as relevant.

First steps — what is the relevance?  Is it because, upon those initial and tentative ambulatory movements is set the foundation for future success?  For, if confidence begins with the initial and tentative first steps, is it any wonder that once the foundation is set with concretized stability, the remainder becomes a monotony of repetitious boredom?

First steps are always important in order to create the firm foundation for future and further steps, and that is why 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, it is important to consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

First steps in preparing, formulating and filing an effective FERS Disability Retirement application is important in putting together a “whole package” that includes medical evidence, legal arguments that are pertinent and relevant, and a persuasive presentation to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in order to enhance the chances of an approval at the First Stage of the complex, administrative process.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement under FERS: Form and matter

Have you ever reflected upon the word, “matter”?  Such an interesting and compelling unit of our language — as in the question asked, “What is the matter?”  By contrast, how about the question, “What matters in this world?” and in a different form, “What matter makes up the universe?”

“Matter” refers to substance, whether used in the manner referring to a circumstance or event, or in inquiring about the foundational essence of that which makes up the “something” in our world.  Form, as Plato tried to explain, is the distinguishing feature that “molds” matter into various distinctions, without which all of the universe would be inseparable into a singular being — and thus the conceptual paradigm of a “oneness” of being originating, as in the first lines of the Old Testament, and out of that the omnipotent Being created the world by “forming” this matter or that matter into individual units of beings.

Matter is thus the “stuff” that things are made from; Form, the appearance that makes X distinguishable from Y; and thus does Being turn into individual beings because of the distinctive forms each take on.  But when we ask those other questions — i.e., “What is the matter?” or “Why does it matter?” — we are asking about relevance, substance, the “stuff” that makes up the event or the circumstances, and not the form or appearance; in other words, we want to get to the meat of an issue.

In that sense, the two meanings of the same word are intended in a similar manner: both for the substantive element that makes up the thing we seek.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal job, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS may become a necessity.

In the process of seeking information about OPM Disability Retirement, both issues will be sought — though you may not realize it in this way — of both “form” and “matter”.  That which distinguishes your case from all others; the “meat” and substance of what must be included in your Federal Disability Retirement application, especially in the medical reports, the Applicant’s Statement of Disability, and the unique features that “make up” your case that have to be “formed” in order to present it to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Form and matter make up everything in the universe, and it matters how you formulate a Federal Disability Retirement application because matter unformed is merely a lump of nothingness that will result in nothing further unless you form it properly.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Information: Present Priorities

Present priorities differ from past ones, if only they have now passed as being present and thus are no longer priorities, as it is often the circumstances as presented in the “now” which matter most to us, as past priorities have lessened in terms of impact, significance, relevance and current importance.

The present priorities that were in existence a decade ago may no longer be the same priorities of the present of today; for, today’s present priorities have changed with the alterations of time, the focus of growth and maturity and their impact upon one another; and it is the context of today, the circumstances of the current period, that matter most to us.

Yesterday, the present priorities may have been the dinner or social function for that evening, or the open vacancy for this or that opportunity.  Then, a major “other” event occurs — perhaps the birth of a child or the death of a friend or relative — and suddenly, the priorities that seemed of such importance and consequence just yesterday, may seem trivial and insignificant today.

Medical conditions, too, seemingly have such an impact — of putting upon us a “reality check” that fades everything else into mere background noise.  What does it matter how one’s career is going, if you come home each night exhausted and unable to enjoy even the opening sonata of a symphonic masterpiece? Or if all of one’s weekend is merely to recover from the week’s fog of endless work, or of vacations and sick leave exhausted to endure constant and incessant testing and treatment regimens that leave no time for pleasure?

Whatever the present priorities and how they differ from past present priorities, one thing is clear: One’s health remains constant throughout, and preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted ultimately to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, reveals that the present priorities of the most important priorities always endure, and that must always include one’s health and well-being, as the application for an OPM Medical Retirement is more evidence that the focus upon past priorities must be re-thought in order to accommodate the present priorities which are of greater importance and significance now that one’s health is at stake.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees: Implications

Merely putting a ‘thus’ or ‘therefore’ does not create the necessary nexus between the facts proffered, the evidence presented and the conclusion declared; implications by definition require some work on the part of the audience, as the bridge not explicitly apparent must by necessity mandate mental connections to be drawn from otherwise disparate fields of facts.

How far can the law be stretched?  For so-called “originalists”, it is allegedly only the plain meaning of the text itself that can be gleaned, without any further “interpretation” beyond what is “originally intended”.  But lawyers go beyond the central meaning of legal opinions all the time; it is the job of a good attorney to stretch the application beyond what is originally meant or intended; and it is up to the next judge before whom such argumentation is tested to place limits and boundaries when the proposed stretch has gone a bridge too far.

How far, for example, can the “Bruner Argument” be made in a Federal Disability Retirement case?  Can the fact of a separation based upon “excessive absences” be used to demand of OPM that the Bruner Presumption should be applied, especially when parallel facts clearly establish that during the same time period of taking exhaustive Sick Leave and excessive LWOP, the Federal or Postal employee had multiple doctor’s appointments and was medically advised not to go to work?  Of course, arguments can always be made — but the real point is, Can one make an effective and persuasive argument?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are preparing a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, those conclusions by implication need to be carefully crafted.  For, while you may see the bridges connecting the two or more land masses that are otherwise separated by the rivers and tributaries, it is up to the Federal employee applicant in an OPM Disability Retirement case to make explicit and obvious those implications that may otherwise be lost in the administrative morass of complexities inherent in every Federal Medical Disability Retirement case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
FERS Medical Disability Lawyer

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: On a tenuous ridge

How do you know whether to proceed; whether it is safe to proceed; whether the roads or pathways are safe enough? What constitutes success? Is it known before it is anticipated, or is it just a self-delusional sense of confidence that sometimes deceives and at others, proves us wrong?

To be on a tenuous ridge combines the two negative aspects of objectivity and subjectivity: Of a physical place that is sharp and often dangerous (the “objective” world) and the mental determination that encompasses a sense of weakness and lack of confidence (the “subjective” perception of a situation); and the combination of the two provides a compounding of a conceptual negation that places one is a precarious state of being.

To be on a tenuous ridge can be a metaphor for proceeding in life, in whatever endeavor or misadventure, without the benefit of experience, hindsight, wisdom or knowledge.  That is the sense and feeling that the Federal or Postal employee possesses when a medical condition begins to impact one’s ability and capacity to continue in one’s chosen Federal or Postal career — to be walking on a tenuous ridge.

For Federal employees or U.S. Postal workers who are considering preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the approach that must be taken should be to get off of the proverbial ridge of tenuousness, and instead to walk upon firm ground with a sense of confidence entering into a future.

Although the future may remain somewhat uncertain during the complex process of maneuvering through a Federal Disability Retirement application, nevertheless, the knowledge that one’s case is the best one that has been put together, goes a long way in avoiding the pitfalls of a tenuous ridge.  Consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application; for, there is another adage similar to “being on a tenuous ridge” that you also might want to avoid — of “jumping from the frying pan into the fire”.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Attorney for OPM Disability Retirement Claims: The gist of it all

When do we want the “gist” of something?  The essence or the “main idea”; or to filter it into the short version, somewhat like the “spark notes” of the thing of which we seek.  Is it appropriate if a student is sitting through a boring lecture and raises his or her hand and asks politely, “I have an activity to attend this afternoon. Can you just give us the gist of what you’re trying to say?”

Or of the greater meaning of life itself — you know, that grand design that everyone is seeking, which is why so many people believe in such things as the “Da Vinci Code” or, more recently, “The Chamberlain Key” — codes to codices that reveal the heart of ancient secrets lost in the trash heaps of history or otherwise forgotten because of wars, famines and changes of the proverbial guards.

Why is it that such “keys” must always be “ancient”, and shrouded in the mystery of “secret societies” who will murder in the dead of night to protect the gist of it all?  How does that reflect upon modernity — that we are too superficial to invent or discover such codes?  Or, is it merely that the cynicism of scientism and the reliance upon the physical universe, the influence of British Logical Positivism and the Age of Science have all subsumed such romanticizing of mysteries beyond the age of reason?

In this fast-paced society where technology surpasses by lightening speed the insular world of secret societies and the unraveling of veiled codices, what we want in the end is the gist of it all — to bypass the tangential details and get to the heart of the matter.  We have little or no time for anything else.

So, 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, what is the gist of it all?  In other words, what is the essence of a Federal Disability Retirement annuity?

Well, to begin with, under FERS (which most people are, as the dinosaur of CSRS or even CSRS Offset have now been relegated to the Pleistocene Era of Federal employment) the Federal or Postal employee must have at least 18 month of Federal Service.  Second, we must be able to prove that a medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing at least one, if not more, of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal job.  And third, the medical condition must last a minimum of 12 months.

Now, this latter bit of a requirement is often confused with thinking that a Federal or Postal worker must therefore wait for at least 12 months after the onset of a medical condition before the Federal or Postal employee can file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  No, that is not the case — for, most doctors and treating medical professionals can render a prognosis as to the chronicity of the medical condition, and that is all that is needed.

Of course, that is precisely the problem of getting merely the “gist of it all” — because, in the end, the annotated version of an important text, issue or pool of information can rarely be filtered down into a cup that can be gulped with one swallow, but is often an ocean full of undercurrents and dangers consumed with sharks, whales and stingrays — sort of like the metaphor of life itself, only more complex because preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application is a complicated administrative process full of bureaucratic pitfalls that cannot ultimately be confined by the gist of it all.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire