Federal OPM Disability Retirement: The Mistakes People Make

The greatest mistake of all is to “assume” X or to “presume” Y; and this is not uncommon, precisely because the wording of the Standard Forms as presented on SF 3112A (Applicant’s Statement of Disability), which is the central basis upon which a Federal/Postal Disability Retirement application is formulated (both for CSRS as well as for FERS employees), makes it appear as if obtaining an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is merely a pro forma activity.

And, indeed, many have informed the undersigned attorney that Human Resources’ personnel at various agencies will understate the scrutiny which OPM will apply in reviewing and evaluating a Federal or Postal Medical Retirement application.

The main problem with H.R. Personnel dismissing the arduous and meticulously scrutinizing administrative process as applied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is that such underestimation is barely acknowledged when a denial is received from OPM on a Federal Disability Retirement case.  All of a sudden, the Human Resources personnel put up their hands and state, “It’s not our responsibility”, when all along they had been insisting as to the ease of the process.

No, it is true — it is not the ultimate responsibility of the Agency or its Human Resources Department.  Yes, it is also true that any application for a CSRS or FERS Disability Retirement is the responsibility of the individual applicant.

As such, because responsibility falls squarely (why, by the way, is it “squarely“, as opposed to “triangularly” or “circularly”?) upon the Federal or Postal Worker, it behooves one to take the entire process seriously, and to invest the proper time, attention, and expenses needed, to do it right “the first time”.

Sincerely,

McGill Disability Retirement Legal Services

 

OPM Disability Retirement: The Preemptive Argument

There is always the danger accompanying it — That the presupposition was unfounded and you may be pointing out a problem that the other side never thought of.  We are all aware of what assumptions can lead to, and so to make a preemptive argument is to enter into dangerous waters where unseen dangers may lurk.

How does one make the right decision as to whether to include the preemptive argument and how prominently should one make it?  Such a question presupposes a cost-benefits analysis — of first determining how likely the other side will recognize certain weaknesses in your position, then providing the preemptive counterpoint accordingly.

In preparing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, whether at the initial Stage or at the responsive Reconsideration Stage of the process, the point of making a preemptive argument depends upon the purpose for which you are making it.

For, at the Initial Stage of the process, you should make such an argument in an understated manner, all the while emphasizing the overall strength of the case; whereas, in responding to an OPM Denial and providing a responsive legal memorandum, any preemptive argument should be made both as a response to OPM as well as a preemptive appeal to an Administrative Judge at the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) — in other words, the elaboration of an anticipatory argument, presuming that OPM is likely to deny the case a second time, as well.

All preemptive arguments possess inherent dangers, but as OPM systematically engages in a shotgun-scattering approach in justifying its denial of a Federal Disability Retirement Application, it is likely that any preemptive argument is in little danger of bringing up any surprises which OPM hadn’t considered, anyway.

Consider contacting a FERS Attorney to prepare and formulate an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, especially when formulating a cogent argument of preemptive significance.

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: 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 Disability Retirement: The Signs of Age

Trees provide the signs with circular rings (is that a redundancy — is there any other type of “ring” except a circular one?) upon cutting it down.  Can a tree tell a lie?  Can it whittle away (yes, the pun is intended) a few years, like humans do, and make a few of those rings disappear so that it shows off its youth as opposed to the stodgy old fogey which the dead stump presupposes?  And, if it could, what would be the motivation?

Humans, of course, possess, harbor, retain and regretfully manifest all sorts of motivations — some simple, often complex, others with unknowable intentions.  On a simple, fundamental level, that of vanity — of wanting to remain relevant in this youth-centered culture where the signs of age make for irrelevance.  Other motivations — of psychological turmoil where one’s appearance of youth has been relied upon for advancement in employment, acceptance among others; and still others, of wanting to hold on to a semblance of the metaphorical fountain of youth.

Plastic surgery can hide the inevitable ravages of age; dying one’s hair; working out; eating well; and yet, somehow, we all succumb to the inevitability of Father Time — whether by mere mortality or, illnesses which begin to develop.

Yes, we live longer than ever, now, but have our bodies adapted in this short time-span of forced evolutionary progress?  Have the cellular structures adapted to longevity when disease and malignancy await to take advantage of our weakened state by age?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who “feel the signs of age” because of a medical condition which impacts one’s ability and capacity to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job — when, the job you occupy is a challenge for the healthiest of individuals, or for that young whippersnapper you once were, but are not now — you may need to consider initiating a Federal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

For, in the end, no matter the attempts to subvert and avoid the signs of age, it is nevertheless the natural inevitability of our lives, no matter the artificial attempts to disregard it.

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 Disability Retirement under FERS: Quality of Life

It has never NOT been an issue in American life; for, with the opportunities available, modernity has placed a focus not just upon “living”, but upon a more grand concept:  That of “living well”.

The cemeteries and unmarked graves of silent history’s fallow grounds are filled with unstated sorrow and grief; and while modernity now knows of wealth and luxuries beyond the wildest imaginations, the past has known great poverty and suffering.

Prior to the age of refrigeration, much of every day was obsessed with preparing the next meal.  Between work just to eke out a living and considering what the next meal would be, survival was the point of existence — until the rise of the “middle class” upon the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

Quality of Life?  Was that even a concept conscious for consideration?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition where that medical condition will no longer allow you to perform all of the essential elements of your job, the concept of “quality of life” must by necessity enter into the equation.

The endless cycle of work-to-weekend and back to work, where the weekend is merely for purposes of resting those chronic medical conditions in order to have some minimal energy-level to make it into work — well, you know the routine, and that vicious cycle is certainly without any “quality” to the life one leads.

Federal Disability Retirement benefits are meant to rescue you from the loss of quality of life.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and let not your life reflect a period of history which was supposed to remain quiet in the fallow grounds of past burial grounds.

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 Disability Retirement: Deliberative Diversions

The concept can possess dual meanings — one, of a negative sense, and the other, of a more intentional, positive perspective.

Deliberative diversions, in the first category of meaning (more of a negative sense), entails an entity which attempts to engage you away from the central issue at hand.  This often occurs in political ads, where certain red-hot button issues are meant to provoke you away from more meaningful and thoughtful discussions.

It is represented most accurately by the age-old lawyer’s trick: “If you don’t have the facts on your side, argue the law. If you don’t have the law on your side, emphasize the facts.  If you have neither the law, nor the facts, on your side, then pound the table!”

Deliberative diversions, in the second level of meaning, is the recognition that focusing upon something for too long can have detrimental residual consequences, and it is a “good thing” to be deliberative in engaging in a diversion, if only to refresh yourself to go on and fight for another day.

However, there must always be a balance between the various projects of life, and as well, balance of the diversions deliberatively engaged in order to return to the main projects.  When that balance goes awry — as in having a medical condition which becomes chronic and unable to be set aside — then it is time to abandon all deliberative diversions and focus upon one’s health as a priority.

Federal Disability Retirement is meant to provide that context:  Of returning to one’s deliberative diversions once Federal Disability Retirement is attained.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to get back to a life where deliberative diversions counterbalance the major projects still in your future.

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 Disability Retirement under FERS: The Value of Effort

Employers will often declare that merely “showing up” is half the battle; if so, showing up on time will more often than not complete the victory of that metaphorical battle.  The value of work is likely a “learned” response; in human beings, it does not appear to be an innate, natural gene which dominates.

In the animal kingdom, one often sees the male lion lazing around while the female of the species goes out and hunts for food.  The female lion — or “lioness” — appears the more athletic and quicker; somehow, that large mane and overdone hairdo seems to slow down the guys in the bunch.

But as necessity is the mother of invention, those documentaries of the wild sometimes capture the males putting in the effort when hunger pains prompt the value of such expenditure of stamina, blundering about in a sudden spurt of energy previously reflected with flies buzzing around the eyes of a sleeping giant.

Yes, there is value in effort, and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to continue in your career of choice in the Federal Government, it is often the case that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will attempt to subvert that effort expended in trying to obtain a Federal Disability Retirement.

The question then becomes a contest between two entities expending effort: On the one side, the vast bureaucracy of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in trying to deny you your benefits, and on the other side — you.  The value of effort — then of greater effort — may be in retaining the services of an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, where the value of effort is seen in the knowledge, application and citation of the relevant legal precedents which need to be invoked in order to fulfill the value of effort.

Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and see whether or not the value of effort can be concretized in the proper recitation of the law.

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 Disability Retirement: The Grist of Life

It is that substance which is most useful; the essential part of the grain grounded in order to make flour; the rest and remainder — of the stem, the outer coating and armor which protects it — they, too, have some role to play in the larger scheme of things, but in the end, it is the grist of life which produces the essence by which we live.

Meaning, for everyone, may posses some external differences; but in the end, values which sustain and are sustainable, cross over and overlap; and yet, rare is the instance where such matters are discussed, even in the closest of families.

What is the grist of life?  Is it to drink, party and have the greatest extent of pleasure achievable?  Is it to “make a difference” in the short time we have upon this world?  Is it to accumulate the greater amount of “toys” and, in the end, to be declared the “winner” because of the amount and extent of wealth amassed?

Or, is it about “relationships” — of Father & Son; Mother & Daughter; Father & Daughter; Mother & Son; extended families; of grandparents; of the coherence or crisis; of a community which no longer exists.  When did we lose that sense of community?  When did the grist of life become a matter of money?

Whatever “it” is, you know that you have lost it when your health begins to deteriorate; for, when your health is a concern, no longer is there a question as to what is the grist of life — it begins and ends with one’s health.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that filing for Federal Disability Retirement is contemplated, the grist of life becomes quickly clarified:  Health, in order to to be able to have a quality of life.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and return to the essence of what it is all about:  Health, Life — a brighter future.

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: This Post-Factual World

If facts don’t matter, then how is it that every side of every issue declares it to be the case that the “facts favor my side”?  The moment we allowed for the validity of the argument — that there are “alternative sets of facts” — the entire structure of rational discourse crumbled.

However you want to call the foundational basis of the Western Philosophical traditions — of the Socratic Method; Rational Discourse; The Adversarial System: The Dialectical Method of Argumentation, etc. — it was always based upon a number of propositional assumptions, including:  A.  There is ultimately only one “Truth” with a capital T;  B. that, even if there might be some subsets of smaller “truths”, they all become subservient to the greater recognition of “The Truth”, and  C. Once all contestants recognize this, no matter how arrogantly we want to resist, we must concede the existence of the greater Truth over the lesser ones.

Schopenhauer was reported to have stated that there are no real lies, but rather, only “crippled truths”, but one wonders.  Russell, of course, countered with his mischievous statement, and with one stroke dismantled the age-old Correspondence theory of Truth with that nonsensical proposition:  “The present King of France is bald”.  As there is no kind of France, he cannot be bald, and yet we all understand the rationality of such a statement, don’t we?

Yet, never let this Post-Factual World fool you into believing that in all areas of life, in every arena of discourse, in fullness of words — that facts simply “don’t matter”.

For example, for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a chronic medical condition such that the medical condition impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s daily attempt to make a living — i.e., continue to work in his or her career of choice with the Federal or Postal system — don’t ever think that “facts don’t matter”, because they matter very, very much.

Contact a lawyer who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, and don’t let this Post-Factual World deter you from the importance of arguing your unique set of facts to OPM.

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: The “Get-Through” Day

Everyone recognizes that Mondays are such a day — of a “get-through” day: Of survival; attending to each issue or problem without freaking out completely; of knowing that the day will be relentless, but that an end will also arrive, with hopes that minimization of residuals into the next day will allow for a better tomorrow.

The world has become, in many ways, more complex, of greater difficulties, encompassing a morass of problems to be solved.  It has become more difficult for many to “make a living”.  Once, a few generations ago, a single-income household could support a fairly comfortable living.  Today, a dual-income household is a necessity, and even that is often insufficient to attain the minimal accouterments of middle-class living.

Is it because more “stuff” is required?  All of those electronic devices and mechanical necessities — are we tacking on greater expenses in an endless cycle of consumption?

And so the Monday may pass, but it is when that “get-through” day becomes an endless summation of days after days after days such that the weekend merely becomes a short respite in order to recuperate for the next round of endless “get-through” days — when that happens, it may be time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

The human body — and mind — can only withstand a certain level of stress and turmoil, and when life become a mere haberdashery of endless get-through days where each get-through day cannot anymore be gotten-through, then it is time for a change.  For Federal Government employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who can no longer get through another “get-through” day, consideration should be given to Federal Disability Retirement.

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in FERS Employee Disability Retirement Law, and consider whether or not you can continue to get through anymore “get-through” days, when each day has become an unending cycle of such days where you can no longer get through them.

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.