Federal Disability Retirement: When Life Comes and Bites You in the…

It is a rather crude way of putting it.  In prior generations, such proverbial “talk” was initiated only after a few drinks, and with no “womenfolk” or churchgoing members who had high-minded constraints upon such crudities.  In modernity, it seems that everyone talks with a peppering of 4-letter words.  Is that a  good thing?

The problem with overdoing anything is that, after a time, it begins to lose its efficacy.  A parent who raises his or her voice every time the child misbehaves, is quickly tuned out and ignored — for, the attitude becomes:  “It doesn’t matter what I do; Dad and Mom yell at me, anyway.”  On the other hand, the father or mother who almost never raises his or her voice, but does so when the importance and significance of the issue warrants it, will often have a positive response from the child, precisely because of its rarity.

It is the same concept as the age-old adage of the “boy who cried wolf”.  But crudities have their place, as well.  A person who rarely swears, but one day says in confidence, “You know, sometimes life just comes at you from behind and bites you in the A__” — well, it sets the tone, underlines the seriousness of the opening salvo, and gets your attention immediately.  For, it is not just the crudity of the sentence, or the origin from whence it came; moreover, it is a truth which we all know.

Circumstances and events beyond our control will often impact us in ways we never expected.  And, while we may never have actually been bitten in the hind quarters, the metaphor is one to which we can all relate (or, is it an “analogy”, strictly speaking?).

For Federal employees and U.S. Post Office workers who have the sense that his or her medical condition does indeed constitute a bite in the rear quarters, it may be time to consider preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application under FERS.  And like all such unexpected attacks of the hind quarters from unknown sources, a medical condition can indeed result in the truism of life’s many challenges — of the need to prioritize and focus on your medical condition, and to protect the rear flank just as much as those expected frontal assaults we can otherwise expect and avoid.

Contact a FERS Lawyer who specializes in Federal Medical Retirement Law, and see whether or not you can prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application under FERS before that unknown source from your Agency comes from behind and bites you in the ___ .

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 Benefits: Toxic Associations

At some point, the “distancing” begins.  First, a subtle move — not saying “hello”; not answering a phone call; avoiding the places where the usual meetings once took place.

Then, perhaps the prefatory denials: “We weren’t really friends” (an adverb to enhance the denial, but a form of grammatical insertion which is more telling when used than not applied at all); “Oh, I didn’t know him hardly at all”.  And then the final nail to the coffin: “Who?  The name is not familiar.”  Well…how about these photographs which show that you were with him/her multiple times?

Toxic associations can range from the blatant to the subtle; but once the toxicity becomes apparent, the rats begin to abandon ship in droves.

Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical condition are often treated as such associations — “toxic” to the extent that they are looked upon as plague-filled individuals who are no longer a member of the “team”.  When those allegedly toxic associations begin to be felt — of coworkers ignoring you; of supervisors looking at you with suspicion, etc., it is time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Your medical conditions are often viewed as contagious — not in terms of transmitting diseases, but in terms of no longer being useful to the Agency or the Postal service.

Contact a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits and begin to disassociate yourself from the toxic associations — theirs, not yours — and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

OPM Disability Retirement for Federal & Postal Employees: Identity

“One day I woke up and looked in the mirror, and realized that I was no longer the person who I thought I was.”

Is this a line from a novel?  Or, perhaps a thought which so many people have considered?  Or even a universal realization which comes as no surprise to anyone.  Who am I?  Who are you?

Do such queries become satisfied by taking out one’s driver’s license and declaring, “Here. This satisfies the question.  This proves it!”  Yet, somehow, we all know that it doesn’t.

People who search for their family “tree”; the uptick of businesses which match one’s DNA to various geographical markers; the rummaging through old photo albums, cellar chests and basement hideaways which might reveal something more than the rat race of paying bills — we all seek relevance in a universe which considers identity to be besides the point.  And when an event further diminishes one’s identity, what then?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers whose identity has been inextricably tied to one’s job, position, career, etc., within the Federal government or Postal Service, filing for FERS Disability Retirement may be a traumatic but necessary next step.  It is always difficult to part ways from one’s identity as a competent working-X; but it may be necessary, precisely because the medical condition no longer allows you to remain attached to that identity.

Contact an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider the future and what identifiable identity you wish to pursue in the years to come.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The Expression of Man

Work is the expression of Man; whether as an explosion of creativity or a grimace from overdoing it, it is an extension of that which is inherent and natural.  Whether in building or deconstructing; of newness or of a renovation; perhaps as part-time or beyond a full-time schedule; the expression of men and women is to work.

We often make up sub-categories of it — of a “career” as opposed to a “job”; a “professional” or an amateur; of a “white collar” position in contradistinction to a “blue collar” worker; but in the generic aggregate, it is all “work”.  Look all around us; the product of work, of Man — men, women, old and young — engaging in the building of a society in bits and pieces, expressing themselves by manner of an activity that takes various forms, multiple hands and countless ideas.  To cease to work is tantamount to stopping that which is the natural expression of Man.

That is why, when a medical condition begins to prevent and impact a person’s ability and capacity to perform all of the essential elements his or her Federal or Postal job, it may be time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of extending the natural expression of Man — by allowing for such creativity and expression to present itself in another vocation outside of the Federal government.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement: Putting it all together

It is the disparate and disconnected narrative that often remains deficient — just short of the finish line and like the runner who suddenly steps upon a pothole on the road to the ticker-tape parade, the discombobulation that ensues can throw the entire coordination off, where feet become entangled and the arms fail to swing in rhythmic motion.

Have you ever watched how some runners have perfect coordination — arms swinging in cadence, the effortless motion of the legs, like the “feel” of silk upon a windy day where nothing gets entangled and everything is in perfect synchronization of timeless beauty?  Or, what of a child who has just begun to walk, trying to run — are they not all legs and arms bundled into a web of discord?

Putting things “all together” is like the runner who must coordinate breathing, arms in motion, legs in cadence and eyesight in guiding — of a perfection reached in order to arrive at a destination point called “the finish line”.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who need to file 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, the key to a successful outcome is partly based upon coordinating all of the elements into a synchronized whole — of the medical records and reports; the Applicant’s Statement of Disability (as reflected on SF 3112A); of the legal arguments to be made and referenced, both as a shield (e.g., of preemptively countering any claim by the Federal Agency or the Postal Service that an “accommodation” has been provided) as well as a sword (e.g., asserting the Bruner Presumption where applicable, or the due consideration that must be given to VA Disability Ratings, etc.); and all of the other details besides.

“Putting it all together” may seem like an effortless feat for an experienced runner, but for the Federal or Postal employee who is suffering from a medical condition, who must put a Federal Disability Retirement packet all together, some assistance from an experienced “runner” — an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law — might be in order.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal Disability Lawyer: Reality, perspective & medical condition

Reality is the existence of Being; perspective, the Kantian structures of how we see things; and a medical condition is that intervening, interrupting and corroding event that may render the first and second of this tripartite concept into a skewering of prospects.

Of course, a medical condition impacts the reality of a situation, especially a person’s ability, capacity and initiative towards a goal, and further, one’s perspective may become completely altered as a result of the event –priorities may change, the goals one has may be pared back, and even the enthusiasm towards certain things may become modified.  That is why a medical condition is sometimes considered a “game changer” in the reality and perspective of one’s life.

Life is full of bumps and bridges; of trespasses and rightful directions; and even of encounters with empathy, love and kindness; and though the reality of one’s situation may often appear that any perspective other than one seen through the eyes of meanness, cruelty and hardened hearts is merely a child’s dream of a fantasyland long passed and forever extinguished, there are still times of joy to look forward to, moments of smiles and days of sunshine left.

A medical condition is often a dark cloud, but a proper perspective on the reality of that darkness needs to be gathered.

For the Federal employee and U.S. Postal worker who sees nothing but turmoil, disaster and progressive deterioration because of the medical condition that prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, 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, may lend the Federal or Postal employee a different perspective on the reality of one’s situation.

No, filing an OPM Disability Retirement application will not be the answer to all of reality’s problems, but it may change one’s perspective as to the dark cloud that has gathered upon the reality of that medical condition that won’t seem to go away.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Disability Retirement under FERS & CSRS: Where we are

Wherever we are, we believe that is where the focal point of life resides.  Yes, it is a truism that the wider the travels, the greater recognition that one’s life is relatively insignificant, and that there are others in distant places where greater importance and relevance is objectively established.

But the subjective, human perspective cannot ultimately abandon the compass of where we are; for, it is the center of the compass itself that controls the direction of the gravitational pull, and while the North Pole may be where the forces reside (including Santa, all of his elves and helpers, and presumably Rudolph and the offspring), the perspective of where the arrow points remains constant:  It is the I, where I am and what circumstances impact me (in whatever form the personal pronoun is enunciated).

Is it an inevitable perspective – this egoism of the subjective “I” from whence the world is viewed, around which swirls the universe that rotates, churns and erupts in unanticipated transcendentalism encompassing the universal karma denoting an insignificant place in the warped historicity of mankind?  Or, is it possible to have been brought up in a community where there is no word within the language game of the collective peoples that points back towards one’s self?

Thus, the “what if” game:  What if there is no personal pronoun?  What if the perspective embraces only some other, such that each views the importance of the other and the relative irrelevance of the one who perceives the other, such that there is no one but the ego in a reflection of a mirror pointing to someone else – would that make a difference, such that there would therefore be no personal possessiveness, neither in grammar nor in envious jealousies of owning that which is everyone else’s?  Can a person exist without being erased and stamped out, in a society where collectivism is constant and self-realization is an alien concept unable to be comprehended?

But that is not so; here, in modernity, there is but the subjective “I”, the royalty of self, and the self-importance of the fanfare where each and every one of us seeks and relishes the quarter hour of fame, now transformed into reality television shows and Selfies on an extension pole, or by min-drones hovering with a camera taking aim at every movement of our selfish worth.

For the Federal employee and U.S. Postal worker who must prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, be cautious in determining “where” one “is” – for, an effective Federal Disability Retirement application can quickly become consumed by the subjective “I” in the narrative delineated in the Applicant’s Statement of Disability (SF 3112A).

To be an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, there must by necessity contain and retain a certain sense of objectivity, tempered by the medical documentation and evidentiary compilation to be submitted.  Yes, yes – where we are is important in life, but remember always that where we are is only relevant from the vantage point of where we want to be tomorrow, and the day after that.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement from Federal Government Employment: Forms, Formats and Conformity

Forms rule; formats pervade; conformity to previously formatted forms are imposed both by the forms themselves, as well as through the delimiting presentation proposed by the formatted appearance.

Forms represent bureaucratization of an industry once known as a mere whippersnapper, but which now has grown into a behemoth and overpowers all with its industrial strength and dominance.  Formats demanded by such Leviathans of leveraged leaders in lapidary loquaciousness lead leftovers left scratching lonesome and lackluster lilliputians (leaving aside luckless left-handed leeches left to lollygagging lamentably).  Conformity by all others reflects the power of forms and formats, as everyone wants to be like everyone else, and rebels who defy the standards of sameness threaten the very essence and structure of a society comfortable with a herd-like mentality.

Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers know this concept well; for, while youth may enter into the Federal Sector or the U.S. Postal Service with grand ideas of “conquering the world” with “new and innovative” ideas never before thought of (why is it that the young believe that they alone came up with the idea of a wheel, or that defying one’s parents is something that cave-teenagers never engaged previously in epochs long forgotten?), it takes but a mere few years before the spirits are dampened and the fury of imaginative flames are extinguished.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition necessitates preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, encounter with, and confrontation of, another set of “forms” with a specific “format” which must follow a baseline “conformity” must again be faced.

Most Federal and Postal workers are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and must complete two series of forms for purposes of filing for Federal Disability Retirement:  SF 3107 series, including the Application for Immediate Retirement and Schedules A, B & C; as well as the SF 3112 series, along with the onerous “Statement of Disability” as formatted in SF 3112A. For those rare dinosaurs under the Civil Service Retirement System, the SF 3107 series is not for you, but rather, it is the SF 2801 (when are you all going to fade away so that the government can save some money by throwing aside those forms?).

Just remember this:  Forms are formatted for a specific purpose; and while conformity is necessary in order for streamlining in favor of an overworked bureaucracy, in the end, the purpose of all three — forms, formats and conformity to the first two — is to achieve an end-goal, and in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM, that achievement is attained by getting the necessary proof and documentation over to OPM, in order to get an approval of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS-Offset.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: The Adaptable Criterion

If a criterion is advanced at the outset, one expects that the details of its applicability will result in a fair outcome so long as the requisite subsets are adhered to.  The problem is one of generalizations, however, and the linguistic malleability of hermeneutic interpretation, and in the end, the honesty of the individual.

There may have been a time when the sin nature of man was contained, and Pandora’s box was sealed, or at least somewhat secured; but once relativism creeped into the general populace, the game of restraint was lost forever.  Once, when man was left to individualistic devices, and information concerning the world was considered esoteric and reserved for the ivory towers of science and theological hoods of mystery shorn by Jesuit Orders of secrecy and cavernous enclaves of furtive whispers echoing down dark chambers in secluded corners, the application and usage of criteria demanded knowledge beyond the commonplace. Now, with Google and other search engines, everyone knows everything, or nothing at all.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are 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 “trick” is to review the legal criteria, amass the information in a manner which fits the applicability for eligibility, then to “make the case” for an approval.

Is it a science?  Or, more precisely, are the regulatory subsets “open to interpretation”?  And more to the point:  Do the Administrative Specialists at OPM adhere to the “letter of the law”, or is hermeneutics less than an honest methodology these days?  Where human nature is concerned, one need not stray too far from the general knowledge of the masses.

If one has lived long enough, you know that you should always walk through the busy streets of a city with one hand on your back pocket, protecting your wallet.  Pickpockets are everywhere, and in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM, the Federal and Postal worker should always be cognizant of the fact that the adaptable criterion is not the fault of the agency or the promulgators of legal standards, but merely reflects the fact that Pandora’s box was left open long ago, and the serpents of horror and dishonesty were left to roam the earth like never before.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: The Generational Transfer of Wisdom

If wisdom is the collective knowledge, information and experience of a culture, then the loss, refusal or rejection of such historical amassing of purposive accrual of cognitive aggregation would result in the disintegration of a cohesive identity.   Foolishness can therefore be defined as the state of reinventing the wheel at every turn, merely because of a stubborn refusal to listen and learn.  And that is precisely the current state of modernity; youth portends to pretentiousness; all of knowledge is discovered only today, and the older generation knows not the profundities of present-day philosophers who tweet daily gems of lifestyle advisories and post declarative idleness of incomprehensible vacuities.

The generational transfer of wisdom appears not to occur, as age determines relevance or signification of acceptable attributes, and pop culture and kitsch are the declared values of societal constructs.  Then, where does that leave the vulnerable and infirm?  The rejection of generational transfer of wisdom is merely an indicator; what it points toward is a greater denial of values, truths and ethos of a culture.  It begins with a coarsening of normative boundaries of conduct, and progressively crumbles the inherent foundations of a society.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who have witnessed the increasingly adversarial environment of the Federal agencies and U.S. Postal Service, the measurable and palpably observable abuse and neglect of basic rules of conduct and behavior are harbingers of greater stress and intolerance.  Federal and Postal employees are always asked to do more with less; and when a medical condition enters into the equation, the need for accommodating — even temporarily or for extended periods of absences or predetermined blocks of time — becomes a mere formality for discrimination and dismissal.  Medical conditions are a part of life — and how we deal with individuals with medical conditions constitutes the character of a person, group and society.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from the duality of adversities — the medical condition itself, and the cold disregard of the Federal agency or the U.S. Postal Service — consideration should be given to filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Does the Federal or Postal employee need the advice and guidance of a Federal Disability Retirement lawyer in pursuing Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM?  That is a microcosm of the greater question of rejecting the generational transfer of wisdom as reflected in society as a whole; for, as the fool in Shakespeare’s tragedies often imagines himself to be the final word on all matters of importance, so the resulting destruction in the final act in both the play and of life is often costly, if not predictable.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire