Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Bailiwick of Time

Time tends to incrementally, insidiously, and imperceptibly creep up and, with a sudden shudder of fright, present itself in a crisis of thought. Whether we control it; to what extent we are slaves to it; all that we can do is manage it, and to recognize that the bailiwick of time begins within our own minds, extends to the world around us, and ends when nightfall and the slumber of silence overtakes the heavy-laden eyelids to lead us back into the abyss and recesses of our own minds.

Waiting fails to extend the objective existence of time; procrastination merely kicks the proverbial can down the pathway where all things accumulate and aggregate, until time runs out and a crisis ensues. When a statute governs a legal or administrative process, that circle of authority must be followed, unless one is prepared to try and argue a narrow exception which may or may not allow for the extension of a deadline. That is indeed a strange concept of foreboding: time tied to a “deadline”; it evokes images of cessation, termination, and end to survivability.

For Federal and Postal Workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the bailiwick of time begins to run; not only with respect to the necessity of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management but, more importantly, if the Federal or Postal Worker is separated from service, that Federal or Postal Worker has only one (1) year from the time of separation to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

If that one-year Statute of Limitations is not met or complied with, you lose your right forever to file for the benefit. In days of yore, if a wrong was committed or violated, the bailiff was sent out to enforce the law; for the Federal or Postal employee who procrastinates, it is the bailiwick of time which will come in the stealth of night, and impose itself before one is even aware of the steady march of life’s linear and inevitable watch, and confine the violator to the law of limitations.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Control Factor

Procrastination is Man’s feeble attempt to control the inevitable march of time.  In the midst of a technologically complex world, where we no longer control the advance of events or circumstances which impinge and invade upon our lives, the subjective cocoon we weave to withstand the onslaught of uncontrollable external subjugations will take many and varied forms.

Time, events and actions occurring daily around us continue in their linear course of unfolding revelations without input or necessity from the individual; technology advances without any particular reason or rationale; or so we believe.  But by delaying, we delude ourselves into thinking that we are Masters of our own destiny.

Such an attempt at controlling the inevitable onslaught of that which we have no influence over, is tantamount to an impotent protestation, nothing more than a juvenile “sit-in” like children refusing to eat their carrots or broccoli, although at least in those examples the elements resisted were purportedly healthy for us. What we often fail to understand, however, is that the very attempt to control is often that which is harmful to us.

For the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, there is often a long and deliberate delay between the onset of a crisis resulting from a progressively deteriorating medical condition, and the preparation, formulation and filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application.

This is the natural course of things.  For, the very factors over which the Federal or Postal Worker has no control over — time, the medical condition, one’s deteriorating health — all serve to impart a sense of loss of destiny.  But to delay and procrastinate will only exacerbate the inevitable; Federal Disability Retirement through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, is the best step to reach that oasis of rehabilitation and quietude.

But like the child who knows not what is good for one’s self, it is often the rebellious and feeble attempt of Man to control that which is beyond one’s control, which potentially results in the downfall and destruction of one’s future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement for Federal and USPS Workers: Excuses

Language is the vehicle by which self-justification is established.  Think about it; if we assume that there is a conceptual void in the mind of other animals, that the consciousness of a squirrel, a raccoon, an owl, etc., is devoid of language as we employ it, then how can procrastination or delay occur?  It is precisely language and the tools of conceptual constructs which provide for an “excuse” for response to a stimuli, and allows for human action to be prevented.

The will to act or refrain from acting is often considered the hallmark of higher intelligence; but intelligence itself can be a detrimental quality, allowing for self-destructive actions resulting from a string of illogical but persuasive reasonings.  Where lack of intelligence provides for the immediacy of response to a presented encounter, so the presence of it in elevated forms will allow for justifying delays to such responses, even if it means a magnified danger to one’s own survival.

Excuses and self-justifying declarative sentences allow us to maintain a false sense of security by providing foundations for continuing on a path of self-destruction.  That is precisely why the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a progressively deteriorating medical condition can maintain a semblance of normalcy despite physical and cognitive indicators to the contrary, sometimes for months, and even for years.  But pain and cognitive dysfunctions have a funny way of reminding the body and mind of danger signals.  Brain synapses communicate the growing danger, and they continue to alert until the time comes when no more linguistic justifications will maintain that false sense of security.

When that time comes, the Federal or Postal worker must consider the option of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, whether under FERS or CSRS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

There is always time for being excused, and sometimes it is well-justified; then, there are other times when the exhaustion of excuses comes to a crisis point, and one must consider a different path.  That “different” path is the need to have a restorative period of recuperation in order to attend to one’s impending medical condition.  Federal Disability Retirement, under FERS or CSRS, is just that allowance for recuperation, and is a path of difference for many Federal and Postal employees.

There are excusable considerations, which last for a time; but time is a linear movement of bodies, and on the universal scale of progression, there comes a point when both time and excuses run out their course of self-justifying efficacy.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM FERS/CSRS Disability Retirement: The Time is Now

Waiting for the perfect storm is always the most persuasive grounds for procrastination; that time where coalescence of all necessary factors come together to provide the optimal moment to do something, but which never arrives; and so there is always one issue still to point to, where one can say, “X has not occurred, yet,” in order to delay the inevitable.

The problem with allowing for perfection to prevent action, is that in the meantime it allows for the deterioration of surrounding circumstances and conditions to occur, thereby further exacerbating the allowance for any such perfection to appear.  Grounds always exist to excuse an action; and when the seriousness of contemplating a change of vocation or stoppage of a career is at stake, such grounds are normally reasonable and real.  But at some point, especially when contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, the Federal or Postal employee must simply acknowledge the fact that one’s present circumstance itself is less-than-a-perfect situation, and with that admission, to weigh the factors in deciding whether filing for FERS or CSRS Disability Retirement is the only viable option left.

In a fantasy-filled virtual world, it may well be that one can wait for the coming-together of perfect circumstances; in the “real” world, one must face and decide upon options which may not always present themselves as the best of all possible worlds.

The problem with today is that many of us live in the virtual world of videos; but there is a Kantian world of objectivity out there, and the coldness of that world is often reflected in the very agencies for which Federal and Postal Workers work.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OWCP Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees? Beware the Lull of Complacency

Monotony is a state of being which we often criticize, yet unintentionally seek; for it is that hiatus of quietude which allows for thoughtful reflection, and recuperative islands of serenity, which serves to prevail upon an otherwise maniacal universe of a fast-paced technological world of smart phones, email, and the constant drone of machinery and demands of the modern decalogue.

But the problems inherent with the calm of normalcy is that it serves the unwanted plate of complacency; and it is precisely the latter which then results in procrastination, a sense that things can wait until tomorrow — until that tomorrow leaves us in the throes of yesterday.

And so it is with Federal and Postal employees who remain on OWCP/Department of Labor benefits, where the luxury of being paid 66 2/3 % if without dependents, and 75% with dependents, provides for that period of life when nothing moves and everything remains static, while one attempts to recuperate from an injury or occupational disease.  But as one remains in that island of calm, the world — and time — continues to march on (do the young of today fully understand the metaphor of time in this digital age where the rhythmic constancy of a ticking clock is no longer heard?).

The Federal or Postal employee might receive a notice of separation from Federal Service, but since the OWCP payments will continue, not think twice about such mundane consequences.  But Federal Disability Retirement benefits must be filed for within one (1) year of separation from Federal Service; and when the hiatus of OWCP benefits is suddenly terminated, the world of monotony may turn upside down into one of unintended turmoil, unless a “back-up” system of benefits was applied for.

Reflective moments are a positive thing; inaction for too long, however, often results in atrophy — a state of being which is never a positive one.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Disability Retirement: From Language to Pragmatic, Substantive & Sequential Steps

The leap from words-to-actions constitutes a milestone of advancement; otherwise, if left in the world of Wittgensteinian language games, where all one does is talk incessantly without “doing” anything, then one merely remains in a universe of one’s own creation.

We all know people “like that” — of talking, talking big, and talking non-stop; and as the talk continues, the world leaves such people behind.  Dreams are paradigms for the wide-eyed youth to search, attempt to strive towards, and to have the incentive to “reach for the stars”; but the reality of the world must also become a stark admixture in order for dreams to be interpreted into actuality.

The young basketball player who dreams of stardom in the NBA cannot reach such a goal unless he practices daily, relentlessly, and at the expense of many leisure and other activities.  It is ultimately the pragmatic steps which must be taken, which represent progress of sorts from a logical, sequential standpoint:  From A to B.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the undersigned attorney is often confronted with:  “I requested the forms from my agency, but I have no idea how to fill them out.”  Forms simplify processes, but they, too, are a composite of a jumble of words — on paper, in written form [sic].

Beyond mere words, in order to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, one must have a tactical and strategic plan — of how to meet the legal test of “preponderance of the evidence“; of how to gather and obtain the proper medical documentation; and how to create the “nexus” between one’s medical condition and the positional duties which one occupies and from which one will be filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The world of language is one of beauty, but of an artifice of creation in man’s universe; it is the way of pragmatism which must be embraced, in order to be successful in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal Worker Disability Retirement: The Tentacles of Time

Time and the negation of time is a concept which is virtually impossible to conceptualize, precisely because any thought about the concept necessarily requires the human mind to be present in the thinking process of the issue.

Thus, to consider a moment prior to the beginning of time is an intellectual act of futility, as such thought necessarily requires the imposition of one’s own mind in the moment of timelessness.  But if one grants that time must somehow involve motion, and that without movement of objects or thought, the very concept itself would become meaningless, then one can begin to comprehend the negation of time, and the requirements of such circumstances (e.g., a void, total darkness, inertia, etc.).

In the stages prior to consideration of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, it is this state of inertia — of waiting for some movement, an indication of improvement of one’s medical conditions; of some change in circumstances, or the vain hope that things will alter for the better, which ultimately becomes damaging.  For, lack of movement or progress, in retrospect, is often the very loss of valuable time; and loss of time, when taking into account the further lengthiness of the process it takes just to prepare a Federal Disability Retirement case, then to wait for OPM to make a decision, only exponentially magnifies the time lost during the period of inertia and indecision.  The tentacles of time tend to take over the tendency to procrastinate.  Sometimes, a decision to move in and of itself is invaluable.

Deciding to file for OPM Disability Retirement benefits is a major, life-changing event; to remain in a state of inertia and negation of time is also a similarly profound event; it is just that, because there is no discernible motion of objects, it just appears as if time is standing still, when in fact the world around us continues to zip forward.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Jump from Theory to Application

Language is an anomaly; as an intermediate tool, it can spur action; as a direct means of causation, it can have an immediate impact (as in argumentation and persuasive rhetoric), or merely appear to do so.  We all know of people who incessantly talk; of things planned; of goals dreamed of; and when one sees such grandiose narratives in a child, it reflects admiration because of the motivating factor and the positive effects of language-to-world connection for the future.  But when an adult speaks without the correlative productivity of real-world application, one begins to wonder.

The beauty of language can be in the very spoken word; yet, language without application can merely result in beauty to be admired, but subject to withering over time, and a deterioration which ultimately concludes in waste.

In preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, there is the danger of procrastination, of allowing for the “talking” about filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, to dominate the actual preparation and practical steps to take. Because medical conditions are subjective in its penultimate sense — i.e., while it is “real”, it is possessed by the subject to whom it impacts — the very act of “talking about it” can create a false impression that something is being done in the very act of talking.

In the modern age, where updating one’s Facebook is considered a substantive accomplishment in life, one can deceive one’s self by talking about filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM.  But there is a difference and a distinction between “talking about X” and “doing X”.  And when the collision between language and the real world come into contact, through (for example) agency termination proceedings, refusal to allow for any further LWOP, or other agency actions, then the conceptual distinction between theory and applicability becomes pronounced, and sometime irreversibly so.

There is a time for thought, reflection and words; there is also a time for action; and the chasm between the two should never be confused.  When the time comes to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from OPM, thoughtfulness needs to convert to actionable steps of pragmatism.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Medical Disability Retirement: 2012 and Beyond

The designation of the year as “2012” is, from a historical perspective, an artifice.  Different countries and cultures have other methodologies of identifying the continuum and sequence of the cyclical seasons.  

Whatever the artifice, however, the reality of daily living remains an encounter which must be dealt with, and for Federal and Postal employees who suffer from one or more medical conditions, who are contemplating preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the Office of Personnel Management, the first step in the process is often the hardest, but the one which must be taken in order to make any advances for the coming year.  

Whether that “first step” constitutes contacting an attorney, obtaining the blank forms (SF 3107 series and SF 3112 series for FERS employees; for CSRS employees, SF 2801 series and SF 3112 series), talking to one’s treating doctor(s), etc. — it is the first step which is the hardest but the most significant.  

Days advance; weeks go by; the “new” year steadily marches towards the half-way point, then beyond.  Procrastination is often a self-protective mechanism of human beings — but one which is contradictory and often leads to self-harm.  Don’t let the days pass by, lest the year go to waste.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Disability Retirement: Advancing from Thought to Action

In speaking with thousands of Federal and Postal employees, it is the pervasive thread of the final step which emanates from the uniqueness of each case, where the realization of that which separates the personal circumstances from the “rest” of us, can be summarized as follows:  The career of the Federal employee; the dedication and loyalty shown; the acknowledgment of how much our ego, our self-worth, and sense of who we are is dominated by the perception of what we do in the working compartment of our lives; and as Vonnegut said so eloquently, “So it goes”.  

In preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, it is that “final step” which is so difficult to take — of transitioning from thought to action, from theoretical construct to practical application; of accepting a diminution, and ultimate elimination, of continuing to engage in that worthy endeavor variously called, “a career”, “one’s profession”, or the answer to the question which every encounter poses:  “So, what do you do?”  And it should be understandable.  

So much of one’s life is taken up by one’s work, that to consider the option because of circumstances beyond one’s control — of a medical condition which has come to impact one’s ability to perform the essential elements of that which defines the Federal or Postal employee — is a difficult step to take.  But it is better to control the options available than to allow for circumstances to dictate one’s future; better to work out a timetable than to submit to an emergency; and better to drive a graceful road, than to be forcibly strapped into a roller coaster.

The step from thinking about filing for Federal Disability Retirement, to acting upon it, is a major event in one’s life.  But to delay, procrastinate, and ultimately allow for others to determine one’s destiny, is an option worse than taking the necessary step.  Indeed, it is no option at all, but an uncontrolled event.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire