As with most things in life, it is helpful to understand the “context” of an event, an occurrence or a process. In the context of preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, it is important to understand that this is essentially a “paper presentation” to an agency which processes thousands of such similar applications, assigned to a person who has a name and (if you are lucky) a voice over the telephone.
Unless it it denied twice (first at the Initial Stage of the Process, then at the “Reconsideration Stage” of the process), there will be very little direct interaction between the OPM Representative assigned to evaluating and determining a Federal or Postal worker’s Federal Disability Retirement application) and the Applicant. Even at the Merit Systems Protection Board, the “human interaction” will be limited over the telephone.
Thus, the underlying “context” of a Federal Disability Retirement application is a “Paper Presentation” of a case. This is not a criticism of the process — indeed, if one stops and reflects upon it, it may be the fairest methodology of undertaking such a process, precisely because it excludes the possibility of favoritism, of bias in favor of personalities or persuasive personal appearance and presentation.
Instead, it is presented to the determiner of the Federal Disability Retirement application based upon the “cold facts” as described and delineated on paper. Thus, a certain sense of “objectivity” is arrived at because of the very limitations imposed by a paper presentation. Understanding this contextual foundation is useful and helpful in making sure that the efforts expended should be focused upon acquiring the best evidence in order to formulate such a paper presentation — to include making sure that the presentation itself is professional, crisp, streamlined, and not filled with a lot of superfluous niceties.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application | Tagged: accepting opm disability clients all across america, contextual foundation needed to build upon your fers disability claim, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, federal disability attorney, federal disability retirement application and process, fers disability blog, FERS disability retirement, importance of paper presentation in a fers disability claim, language form and sample disability retirement usps, nationwide representation of federal employees, objective language and evidence in the opm disability claim, opm disability application form, OPM disability application tips and strategies, opm disability retirement blog, owcp disability retirement, post office application for disability retirement, Postal Service disability, postal service disability retirement, preparing an OPM disability application for the long term, strategists for a good opm disability application, the nature of an objective fers disability application, things to remember when a federal employee files for disability retirement, understanding the context of a federal disability application form, USPS disability retirement | Leave a comment »
OPM Disability Retirement: Agency Supervisors & Their Responsibility
Agency Supervisors possess powers which can be easily misused. As such, the Supervisor who must fill out a Supervisor’s Statement — Standard Form 3112B — for the disability retirement applicant, must do so with care, integrity, and a sense of reasoned perspective and fairness. “But I’m only telling the truth of what I believe,” is often the justification of a Supervisor who deliberately inserts damaging, self-serving and derogatory remarks on the Supervisor’s Statement. But such “truth” goes beyond the proper role of a Supervisor. Indeed, it is often helpful to discuss the content of intended remarks and statements with the Federal or Postal employee first. Such consultation provides a true and balanced opportunity — a field of fairness and a reasoned perspective — to ensure that a Supervisor is indeed being fair, balanced, and neutral, and not allowing for any personal “feelings” of acrimony or animosity to dilute and pollute a fair appraisal of an employee’s performance, conduct, and impact upon the Agency’s purpose, mission, and goals intended and accomplished. For, ultimately, a Supervisor’s Statement is not about what a Supervisor’s “belief” is; it is not about whether the Supervisor likes or dislikes a Federal or Postal employee; rather, it is supposed to be a balanced, objective perspective delineating the impact of a Federal or Postal employee’s performance or conduct, relative to his or her medical condition and the ability of that employee to perform the essential elements of a job.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions | Tagged: abusive postal supervisors plague the workplace, attorney representing federal employees, avoiding deception during the federal disability application, disability retirement fers, disability retirement usps, essential elements of jobs, federal disability message boards, federal disability retirement blog, federal supervisor response to employee work injury, federal supervisors abuse of power, federal supervisors lies and half lies, fers disability application supervisor comments, FERS disability retirement, filing a supervisor's opm statement with care and integrity, harassment is not a medical issue, honesty always pays off, if your boss tries to hurt your federal disability application, it's all about work disability and job performance, letter carriers disability retirement, light duty accommodation versus disability retirement, limited duty assignments united states postal service, mail carrier injury on the job, medical compensation for federal and postal workers, Nexus between Medical Condition and Essential Elements, notifying the supervisor/agency, OPM disability retirement, personal injury at federal jobs, post office application for disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, postal supervisors and managers, postal workers injured on the job, retaliation against the injured ill federal employee worker, rural carrier on job injury, SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement, Standard Form 3112b, supervisors and disabled employees in the US federal agencies, supervisors' revenge against Postal workers, the injured federal worker and the unfair supervisor, the venom of the supervisor, US Postal Disability, USPS disability retirement, usps workers compensation disability, when supervisors treat federal workers with dignity and respect, when the supervisor files the form with fairness and balance, work abuse at the US Postal Service | Leave a comment »