FERS Disability Retirement: The Acceleration Principle

In economics, the principle makes the logical connection between the demand for consumer goods and the requirement of accelerated production needs in order to meet the higher demand.  In other words, when the demand for consumer goods increases, it logically follows that the demand for equipment will accelerate because the means of production in order to meet the consumer demands will need to be fulfilled.

In a similar vein, there is a parallel principle in other sectors of life — educational acceleration of mediocrity, for example.  It would make sense that if a country’s educational system systematically reduces its standards of excellence, that as the years pass, everyone over time will be dumber because those students who go through the “system” and go on to become teachers, will teach the next generation of students at a reduced level of rigor, and the acceleration principle will come into play as each successive generation teaches the next at a dumbed-down level.

Similarly, wouldn’t this same principle be applicable in areas of reading, for example — where, a nation which reads less but expends a greater amount of time in watching videos, becoming entrenched in the virtual maze of computers and Smartphones, or in video games, etc., will accelerate into a population of illiteracy and cultural ineptitude?

How about in health — isn’t there a similar principle experienced, where being young can somewhat compensate for a chronic health condition, but where age or some traumatic event can trigger and accelerate the health condition where, heretofore, it had been somewhat managed and controlled?

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, of course, will turn that on its head if you are not careful.  They will argue thus: You had a preexisting condition; there are no objective indicators that it worsened during your tenure as a Federal Employee.  Thus, your case is denied.  Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the acceleration principle is both valid and effective, if delineated in the best and proper manner.

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 Employee Medical Retirement Law: The Murakami Watch

Perhaps, with the success of the movie, Drive My Car, he will finally be honored with the last accolade withheld: Nobel Prize for Literature.  Each year, thousands in his home country await with bated breath, expecting his rightful claim.  He has won every other prize; pronounced as the writer who should be honored with the highest literary acclaim; but each year, the despair felt by Murakami watchers is palpable.

Will he get it next year?  Abdulrazak Gurnah “stole” it this past year.  Sigh.

And what will the thousands who gather each year, hoping that this will be the year — what will they say if again he is robbed, left unrecognized, unexplainably ignored, shunned aside, left empty-handed, perennially stripped of the dignity which would cast him with the eternals like Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Pearl Buck, T.S. Eliot, Faulkner, Camus, Steinbeck, Morrison… but where is Willa Cather, the quintessential writer who wrote about the heartland of America?

There have been many, many deserving authors who never won that most coveted of prizes, and that is merely a reflection of life itself — that we don’t always get what we believe we deserve, or of what others may deserve, and it is interesting how the thing we do not have is what we yearn for most.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a disabling 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, the Murakami Watch is probably a mere nuisance of an issue.

Health, in the end, is more important than whether or not any given author should or should not receive the pinnacle of literary prizes; and health is the one thing that, when lost, itself becomes the coveted item.

Contact a disability lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, and while a Federal Disability Retirement annuity may not in and of itself give you back your health, it will give you the time to try and recuperate and regain that most coveted of prizes.

As for the Murakami Watch?  Sit back and enjoy it from both sides of the spectrum: If you don’t like Murakami’s writings, relish the yearly denial; and if you love his writings, wait with bated breath for this year — and the next.  At least you can enjoy the camaraderie of shared despair and loss.

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.

OPM Medical Retirement under FERS: The Seriousness of Life

It is because of the seriousness that too many fall quickly into frivolous living; for, it is the distraction which allows for the capacity to tolerate; otherwise, the burdens of daily living would overwhelm us all.

The entertainment industry manipulates us because of it; the harsh realities of daily living compel us to avoid the burdens and responsibilities; the ease of rational justification for which human beings are especially noted for, provides us with the necessary allowances.

The seriousness of life — look at the animal kingdom, of even the suburban enclave of pigeons, squirrels, cardinals, sparrows, rabbits, etc. — in the dead of winter, there is little joy or entertaining distractions; merely, the seriousness of life, of trying to forage just to survive.

The poignancy of such seriousness is magnified, quantified and exponentially enlarged in scope, when a medical condition impacts our lives.  Then, there is very little room for error.  We become limited.  We become paralyzed.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows the Federal or Postal employee to continue in his or her chosen Federal or Postal career, the seriousness of life is but a lone lightbulb dangling from the ceiling — illuminating the limited choices available.

Consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Contact an attorney who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, and proceed with caution as with all steps acknowledging the seriousness of life.

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 Civilian Federal Employees: The Narrative to Tell

In the expansive version of a narrative, we might include extraneous or even irrelevant information in telling a story.  Until quite recently, most movies and television shows avoided scenes of people brushing their teeth, using a urinal, or otherwise utilizing the bathroom facilities (unless, of course, you include that scene in the Hitchcock movie, Psycho, of the woman in the shower).

Our genteel sensibilities implicated an assumption of deliberation exclusion, that viewers were wise enough to know that the narrative involved such scenes; we just didn’t need to actually be “entertained” by such irrelevancies.  Thus, in every narrative, there is a necessity to edit, exclude, excise and narrow; otherwise, we would be left with a lengthy compendium of infinite facts and factoids.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition which necessitates a filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application, the narrative to tell is required by SF 3112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability.  Streamlining; narrowing the scope; focusing upon a specific issue; these and much more are important aspects in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application.

Consult with a Federal Disability Lawyer who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of writing the narrative to tell.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The House that Happiness Built

Later in life, we tend to get into the “preservation mode” — of trying to hold onto the house that happiness built.  We don’t want to move despite the fact that steep stairs and multiple floors are never conducive to old age.  Youth was full of dreams and hope; happiness was the dream of building, of starting a family (or so it once was) and doing things for the future.  No problem could be foreseen that could not be overcome, for the future was bright, hope sprang eternally and the sunrise each morning was something to behold.  But that life could remain in such an optimistic mode of living.  Divorce, tragedy, death, illness, loss of career — such pablum is often unthinkable, until it becomes a reality.

For Federal employees or U.S. Postal workers who have had a setback because of an illness or a medical condition, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS is a way of preserving the house that happiness built.  Sometimes, a medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing the essential elements of his or her job, and thus must file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. When that time comes, FERS Disability Retirement is a benefit that is meant to help those who may be able to remain productive in some other capacity, but not in the particular type of job that he or she works in.

Consult with an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law for further details, and don’t let the problems of life threaten the house that happiness built.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal Disability Retirement: Accommodations

In everyday, common and familiar usage, what does the word “accommodations” mean?  It is to go out of one’s way in order to meet the needs of someone else.  It is to try and allow for another person to fit in, to find comfort or to be allowed to remain even though some extra effort may have to be expended.

In legal terms, especially in Federal Disability Retirement Law under FERS, the term “accommodations” has a similar meaning and import.  It is that “something” which the Federal Agency or the Postal unit must do such that a person who suffers from a medical condition or disability can continue to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job.  It may well be that the Federal Agency or Postal Service is unable to accommodate the medical condition and, try as they might, a determination and conclusion is made that no such accommodations exist, or can be allowed for, because of the nature, extent and severity of the medical condition itself.

The “accommodation” question is one of the hurdles that must be overcome in a Federal Disability Retirement application.

It is a complexity in Federal Disability Retirement Law that poses many problems and greater questions.  Is the accommodation permanent or temporary?  Will it allow for the Federal or Postal worker to perform the essential elements of his or her position?  Can a future supervisor “take back” the modification allowed for, or does it become a permanent feature of the position description?

These and many other questions surround the issue of agency efforts for reassignment and accommodations, and in order to obtain clarification and move forward in a Federal Disability Retirement application, consult with a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: The Tightening Standard

Some would say that, since 2018 or so, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has been “tightening” the standards in Federal Disability Retirement Law.  Perhaps that is a valid point.

However, whether by way of an unofficial quota system or because there has been a policy change at the highest levels, the fact remains that there are laws in place which must be followed, a criteria of regulations which must be complied with, and standards dictated by case-law and legal opinions set both by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, as well as by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which govern all decision rendered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

All benefits must be fought for, and fought hard.  Nothing should ever be taken for granted.

Whether one believes that there is a tightening standard or not, the applicable rules, regulations and case-laws must be asserted, cited and demanded to be applied, and that is why, when a Federal or Postal employee begins the process of preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it is a given that you should consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, to prepare for the fight ahead.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Benefits: Avoiding Bumps and Potholes

Can one tell the difference between the two?  Perhaps if you concentrate upon the jarring experience — of the sudden rise and fall, however short in the millisecond of time when the bump is encountered where the vehicle is lifted up and suddenly jolted with a sudden crash, as distinct from the unanticipated crunch of a pothole and the jarring rise when the tire groans and the shock absorbers tremble at the strain of calamity; and then the sigh of relief that the vehicle survived the impact.

Potholes go down and up; bumps go up and down; and in the split second when either are encountered, the difference felt is minuscule and essentially irrelevant, inasmuch as the concern is not as to the “type” of calamity encountered, but the consequences of that encounter.  And that is true of most difficulties involved — our interest lies not upon the initiating sequelae, but upon the problem itself, in order to attend to correcting, fixing, resolving, etc.  In other words, whether a bump or a pothole, we have to make sure that the damage done is repaired.

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, the “repair” is in the application for Federal Disability Retirement, and the “pothole” or “bump” is in the manner in which the Federal Disability Retirement application is prepared.

Whether at the initial stage of preparing and formulating one’s case, or at the denial/reconsideration or the MSPB stage, it is important to avoid the bumps and potholes by consulting with a lawyer who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law.

Call and consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law today, if only to avoid the bumps and potholes of a complex bureaucratic morass through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Attorney for Federal Disability Retirement Claims: Next Steps

It is the previous step that determines the following one, and the one before that which closes the alternatives for multiple other pathways; in the end, sequence matters, protocol can make a difference, and how one takes the steps, in what direction, by what methodology — these are all important considerations to contemplate.  What the endeavor is; by what means one is attempting to achieve the end-result; and the manner in which the goal is reached; the attempt the take a short-cut will often result in only a short-lived gain, but often with long-term consequences that, upon reflection, made the short-cut pay a price greater than the worth of the gain.

Next steps are important; each step, whether previously taken or subsequently considered, are also obviously of significance, but one could argue that those already taken cannot be reversed or, if reversed or retraced, may complicate matters more, whereas the “next step” yet to be taken may impact all previous ones already established and thus must be considered in light of the consequences likely to ensue.

Whatever has already occurred in the past cannot be undone or, if it can, must be retracted with care such that any retrospective refashioning of previous actions taken will do no greater harm than that which has already been consummated.  It is always the “next steps” that are the crucial ones, for they will determine not only the efficacy of all previous ones, but further, will either validate or undermine all previous ones heretofore taken.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are considering preparing, formulating and 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 next steps you take may be the critical ones that determine the success or failure of the entire complex, administrative and bureaucratic process you are attempting to undertake.

What statements are made as reflected on SF 3112A, the Applicant’s Statement of Disability; the sufficiency of the medical reports and records gathered, to be submitted as Attachments to your Federal Disability Retirement application; whether you answer and address the issues concerning accommodations in the workplace sufficiently or in what manner; whether you have an adequate understanding and comprehension of your rights with regard to Federal Disability Retirement Law; these and many other “next steps” may well determine the future course of actions previously taken, ignored or otherwise not initiated.

Perhaps the “next step” should be to consult with an attorney who is knowledgeable about Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the “next step” be the one that leads to an unforeseen stumble, where that next step leads to a misstep or the following next step after that cannot occur.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Attorney Representation for OPM Disability Claims: The unknown world

It is that part of the universe that is often seen as the “far side of the moon”, where shadows befall and eyes never perceive, witnesses never survive and documents don’t exist.  Mount Everest was once that world; galaxies outside of our own, despite our best efforts to invent and create greater and stronger telescopes, or ones that float in the nothingness of outer space and send back digital images that are obscure and indistinguishable from inkblots accidently spilled upon a sheet of white paper, but somehow scientists can discern great discoveries by pointing to colors, hue, magnified analogs and complex algorithms that leave the rest of us scratching our heads and declaring, “You got all of that from this picture?”

There was life once on Mars and Jupiter since contained icicles that entrapped microbes billions of years ago, and just through a photograph of a fuzzy specter that the rest of us would have interpreted as Bugs Bunny leaning against a fencepost eating a carrot stick.  But of unknown worlds and the far side of the moon where shadows rest upon and hide the human toil of secrets and conspiracies, the truly mysterious one is the subjective mind of the person sitting next to you.  Yes, yes, it may not appear that way – perhaps each time you ask a question of that individual, he or she merely grunts and states in the same monotone of boredom and unexcitable drone, “Yep. What of it?”

And so when PBS or the National Geographic Society has some show about the complexity of the human brain, the neurons and the micro-conceptual foundations that make up the universe of human circuitry, dreams, images, thought-processes, Freudian and other “-ians” that delve into the human mind of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious and all spectrums in between, you turn, look at that same person and say, “Not.”  Or, that person one day does something completely out of the ordinary and during his lunch break takes out a book – say, Kant’s classic on the foundations of metaphysics, or some such esoteric material, and proceeds to mumble to himself, and you say, “Gee, didn’t know he was into that.”  But then you again try and engage him with, “So, what are you reading?”  And the familiar refrain comes back: “Yep. What of it?”  Beyond disappointments and non-engagements with universes parallel, mysterious and already predicted, there is still that “subjective” universe where pain remains, medical conditions are hidden and plans for the future are yet to be expressed.

That is the netherworld of the Federal or Postal employee who must contemplate preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.  It is also the world of “cat-and-mouse” – of when to tell the Federal agency or Postal service of your intentions; how much to tell; when to submit the Disability Retirement packet so that it obtains the greatest advantage against the Federal agency or Postal Service; and all of the complexities in between.

Yes, there are still “unknown worlds” and universes; you just became too much a part of it to recognize the wonder of it all, because the guy next to you keeps burping and saying, “Yep. What of it?”

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire