Federal Agencies, and the Postal Service, can act as little fiefdoms, with minimal oversight in the use of power. There is no school which teaches the proper use of power; power is something which is too often misused, misapplied, and abused. And, those who possess power, often exponentially apply it when the focus of such power has become vulnerable. Federal and Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, who are in the vulnerable position of necessarily filing for disability retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS because of the imposition of an unwanted medical condition which impacts and impedes his or her ability to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, are especially in a sensitive position, precisely because they are at the complete mercy of the Supervisor. Supervisors need to understand and appreciate the great power which he or she possesses. The powerful need not misuse such power in order to show how powerful he or she is; indeed, it is in the very act of kindness, empathy, and the ability to show sensitivity and “human-ness” which is the true showing of the powerful. Supervisors should “bend over backwards” to show what it means to truly be a Supervisor — one who recognizes and appreciates the long years of loyal service the disabled employee has shown; empathy for the vulnerable situation the employee now finds him/herself in; kindness in the treatment of the employee. Such kind treatment will go a long way towards encouraging a sense of community and family within an agency, and will foster the other employees in the department, office, and greater agency to work that much harder, knowing that it is not “just a job” — but a career worthy of greater devotion.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions, OPM Disability and a Hostile Working Environment, U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Disability Retirement | Tagged: a federal government system that often allows abuse, abusive supervisors and federal disabled workers, applying for disability with opm, bullying postal supervisor and the injured federal employee, consequences of an agency's adverce action, disability retirement benefits for federal employees, disability retirement usps, disciplinary action against the postal worker, disruptive behavior or a medical condition at the USPS, emotional distress at the Post Office, federal disability law blog, federal disability retirement blog, federal employee guide to medical retirement, federal employee work related disability, federal employees retirement system disability, federal supervisor response to employee work injury, federal supervisors abuse of power, FERS disability retirement, harassment and bullying by federal government supervisors, harassment without accountability at the USPS, hostile work environment for federal workers, injured employees working under abusive supervisors, intimidation against the disabled federal worker, lack of work for usps workers with medical restrictions, OPM disability retirement, postal supervisors and managers, recognizing work done by disabled employees, removal proposal against federal employees, supervisors and disabled employees in the US federal agencies, supervisors' revenge against Postal workers, supportive supervisors make the workplace a community, the injured federal worker and the unfair supervisor, USPS a culture of fear and intimidation, USPS disability retirement, usps workers compensation disability, what to do when the postal service denies owcp benefits, when supervisors show empathy and sensitivity, when supervisors treat federal workers with dignity and respect, when the supervisors show their power, work abuse at the US Postal Service, work injury then supervisor harassment at us federal agencies, workplace bulling in the federal sector | 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 »