The falcon flies in our midst; with an unknown distance of its perimeter to prey, it suddenly appears, perched with watchful eyes for squirrels, rabbits, other birds, etc. Its flight is silent and graceful, and long before people realize its presence, the silence and sudden muteness of wildlife activity reveals the fear imposed by its mere appearance. It flies silently, swiftly, and with a grace which demands awe and respect. From its high vantage point, the targeted prey below rarely stands a fair chance of avoidance. Those eyes are focused, with a singular vision operating to corner, catch and consume. Organisms under a microscope must feel a similar sense, if indeed they become aware of being studied and prodded.
People, too, who are being surveilled and inspected; there is often a sixth sense of being constantly and vigilantly watched. Federal and Postal Workers who are under the onerous burden of a Performance Improvement Plan (the acronym of a “PIP”) have that same sense. It is not a positive or productive feeling; it is, instead, a dread of knowing that the “watching” part is merely a prelude for further actions forthcoming, like the noiseless glide of the hawk above.
Being under the constant gaze of a predator often requires preventative action on the part of the prey; for Federal and Postal Workers who come to recognize that his or her job performance is deteriorating because of a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management may be the best option and course of action to take. Because it is taking such a long time to get an approval these days, preparatory steps should be taken early. Waiting for a separation from service, while still allowing for time thereafter to file, is normally not the wisest course.
As it is always better to be the “watcher” than the “watched”, so the Federal employee who needs to file for OPM Disability Retirement benefits should take the affirmative steps to prepare for an eventuality — that time when, like the hawk who has made a decision to target its prey, the Federal or Postal Worker has a place of refuge to enter.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Pre-Application Considerations | Tagged: a battle worth fighting for and against a very strong and resourceful opponent, a fight few federal employees foresee in the future: fighting for survival after a disability, administrative actions against federal employee, aggressively defending disability claims made by us federal workers, animal analogies and fables and fers disability retirement, argument by analogy, attorney defending postal employees, blog on civil service disability retirement, consequences of an agency's adverce action, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, current performance evaluations and fers disability retirement, deficiency in performance or attendance requirement, disciplinary action against the postal worker, don't let the agency scare you with investigative reviews, facing the demons of inaction with a pragmatic file-now worry-later approach, federal disability attorney defending aggressively your disability rights, federal disability retirement: fighting for your rights with everything you got, FERS disability retirement, for those disabled federal workers being placed on a pip, getting fers disability retirement after a long legal fight, going from thoughts to actions: fers disability retirement for government employees, government lawyers defending agencies against disabled federal workers, how agencies use review evaluations with the goal of getting rid of the federal employee with disabilities, job evaluation for federal employees with mental and nervous problems, just like a wild sanctuary defends animals from predators -- federal disability retirement defends human beings to move on with life, law firm representing clients in opm disability law all across america, learning from nature and the animal kingdom, learning what the federal agency is really up to by issuing an pip, light duty federal workers in danger of inaction, MAKE NO MISTAKE pip is a set up to get rid of the employee who has not performed well due to a disability or other kind of medical or psychiatric condition, nationwide representation of federal employees, Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), running like a chicken or fighting like a hawk: the shining path towards financial and physical recovery, setting a performance improvement plan (pip) as a means for failure, taking charge of your future after fers disability, taking control of your federal disability application, the disabled federal employee and the price of inaction, the intense reservations and concerns of a disabled federal worker may drag him to inaction, the risk of a federal employee's inaction after a disability, the use and abuse of PIPs in the federal workplace, the uselessness of waiting for action from the Federal Agency, this puppy won't quit without a fight: defending your rights under federal disability retirement laws, USPS disability retirement, when inaction means continuing on a path of self-destruction, when red flags show the need for immediate action, when the fear and anxiety of the process lead to inaction, when the federal employee is placed on a pip, wildlife metaphors for federal disability retirement education | Leave a comment »
Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: The Exaggerated Supervisor’s Statement
In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, the Federal and Postal employee should focus upon those aspects of the OPM Medical Retirement which are under his or her “control” — directly or indirectly — and not worry excessively about those things which are beyond one’s control or responsibility.
Thus, obtaining the proper medical documentation; accurately, succinctly and coherently formulating the Applicant’s Statement of Disability on SF 3112A, etc., are within the purview of one’s control and responsibility. Having the Supervisor complete the Supervisor’s Statement — SF 3112B — is part of the required final Federal Disability Retirement packet; what is contained within the parameters and confines of the form itself, however, is often beyond one’s control.
While one assumes that a Supervisor’s Statement will be completed with a fair amount of accuracy, it will necessarily contain a certain perspective, intent, and often a sense of “protecting” the agency’s interest and goals. Thus, the Supervisor will often overstate the extent of an attempted accommodation engaged in, real or imagined, in order to justify its actions concerning the Federal or Postal employee. Further, it will often mis-state the concept of “light duty” and how it relates to accommodating the Federal or Postal employee. In other sections of SF 3112B, it may over-state and exaggerate the employee’s conduct or impact of the medical conditions upon the Agency’s workload.
An exaggerated Supervisor’s Statement will often be helpful to a Federal Disability Retirement case. Don’t be too hasty in attempting to correct inaccuracies and differing perspectives; sometimes, the exaggerated statements are merely differences of opinions and viewpoints, and may in fact be helpful in obtaining an approval from the Office of Personnel Management.
In any event, a Supervisor’s Statement is beyond one’s control — and undue focus upon those issues beyond one’s control can detract from the greater mission at hand.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application - SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement for CSRS and FERS | Tagged: 3112b supervisor's narrative and its inaccuracies, an exaggerated supervisor's statements of disability, assessment for postal disability retirement from supervisor, attorney representing federal workers for disability throughout the united states, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, don't worry too much about the opm disability claim supervisor's statements, federal supervisor response to employee work injury, fers disability application supervisor comments, FERS disability retirement, injured employees working under abusive supervisors, legal services for federal and postal workers all across america, OPM disability retirement, postal service disability retirement, postal supervisors and managers, postal supervisors' definition of accommodation, SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement, supervisors and disabled employees in the US federal agencies, taking control of your federal disability application, the applicant's control of the opm disability application and process, the postal supervisor and the sf 3112b, trying to change things you have some control over, USPS disability retirement, worrying about things out of your control | 1 Comment »