FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: The Body

It is a mechanically extraordinary creation, whether by means of transcendental creation or evolutionary process — the bipedaling human body. The ability and capacity of balance and coordination; the acuity of the human mind and its quickness in information processing; the amazing functionality of dexterous hands and adaptability to quickly changing environments.

It is perhaps because of the success of that which is given, that we take for granted what we possess, and in the very taking for granted of something, allowing for the abuse of that which we never earned, has been one of the greatest calamities for human beings.  To test the extent of endurance, strength and limitation of capacity is one thing; to abuse beyond what a thing was meant for, is quite another.

For the Federal and Postal employee who is suffering from a medical condition, where the medical condition has arrived at a crisis point of deterioration, incapacity and intractability, it is time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, precisely because one does not wish to cross the line into “abuse” of one’s body.

It is all well and good to come to the point of testing the extent of one’s human capacity; but once the limit is met, the need for restorative recuperation must be embraced.

Federal and Postal workers have a reputation for hard work and endurance, including patience beyond being a virtue; but there is another component beyond the human body which one is gifted with — that of one’s brain.  It is a functional component which should be used in consonance with the body, but it requires thoughtful quiescence.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Negation within an Insular Universe

Real ghosts exist in the minds of those who remember.  It is the negation within a man’s mind; the presence of someone or some entity which is retained in memory, which is negated in the objective, physical world, but whose image continues to haunt us precisely because of the ability to remember, which allows us to perceive ghosts in a universe which otherwise fails to recognize them.

When the last Civil War veteran died, the ghosts of that event disappeared.  When the final WWII veteran departs in peace, the screams at Normandy will have quieted.  For the rest of us in the physical universe, it is only the momentary manifestation through a tear drop making its way down the subtle canals of aging creases on a person’s face, which allows for us to make contact within that insular world of memories.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents him or her from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, it is often a hidden pain deliberately concealed; or a psychiatric condition which manifests itself in emotional immobility; but it is merely through performance and other indicia by which we gauge whether something is amiss or not.

Whether one’s coworkers or supervisors believe in the ghosts haunting the Federal or Postal Worker is besides the point; taking care of one’s medical condition is and should be foremost, and filing for FERS Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is a step which often must be taken in order to pursue a rehabilitative path for one’s future.

The negation which one experiences — of that which no longer is — because of one’s medical condition, is real enough; concealing it will only further harm and haunt, and preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is often the first positive step in expunging the ghosts which haunt one’s life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: Speaking with the Doctor

Communication is the key to a successful outcome:  such a trite truism is certainly applicable in a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS & CSRS.  The primary focus when a Federal or Postal employee has a medical condition which is impacting his or her ability to perform all of the essential elements of his or her job, is to take care of the medical condition — i.e., to have the necessary treatments, to undergo the proper prescriptive treatment modalities, including surgery, medication regimens, pain management treatments, psychotherapeutic intervention, etc.

Beyond such treatment modalities, however, there may come a point in the life of a Federal or Postal employee when it is becoming apparent that the medical condition is simply “incompatible” with the useful and efficient retention in the Federal or Postal Service.  Such a determination is best made by the Federal or Postal employee, if possible, as opposed to having the Federal Agency or the U.S. Postal Service suddenly and unceremoniously make such a determination — in the form of a proposed removal based upon one’s failure to maintain a regular work schedule; or because of taking “excessive leave“; or putting a Federal or Postal employee upon a Performance Improvement Plan.  Such a determination may best be made by the Federal or Postal employee by communicating one’s concerns to the treating doctor, and asking some incisive questions.  Another trite truism:  The only stupid question is the one not asked.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire