Federal Disability Retirement: The Value of Complaint

The older generation would probably disagree.  For, complaining about anything in this world “never gets you anywhere”, is the refrain often heard from a generation which endured the Great Depression, a World War, the Cold War, nuclear threats — and, more recently, of global terrorism.

And where did “complaining” get us?  Nowhere.  Government keeps getting bigger and bigger, more intrusive into our lives, while the services offered become less efficient.  Things always seem to get worse, over time, despite promises of greater efficiency and openness.

Yet, there is a value in complaining — at a minimum, of simply releasing the pent-up frustrations amassed through standing in long lines, inability to get through to a live person on the telephone, and a myriad of other frustrations and withheld, repressed irritations.  Complaining also has the value of letting your concerns be known to others.

There is, of course, a “fine line” between complaining (a negative connotation) and expressing one’s “concerns” (a valid, more-acceptable linguistic contortion that is somehow a “positive” engagement).  Perhaps it has to do with the accompanying tone of voice, facial expression, or just the plain fact that if the listening individual likes you, then you are expressing a concern, but if he/she decides to not like you, then you are “complaining”.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are considering filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under the FERS system, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “complaining” is a necessary component in preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application.  For one thing, you need to — at a minimum — have some documentary proof of your health complaints (i.e., have a history of medical treatment).  Moreover, it is often helpful if your agency knows of your health concerns (here we go again — a more “positive” way of putting it).

And when you are ready, call a Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to complain to him about the complex bureaucratic process of preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement case.  And as to the value of complaint?  I promise to listen.

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.

 

Early Retirement for Disabled Federal Workers: Becoming a Stereotype

Perhaps it is an unfair characterization, or an image which is arcane and archaic — and yet endures as a residue from the old days, like smoking cigarettes and leaving nicotine stains on one’s inner side of fingers.  We hate stereotypes.  They linger; they remain as images we try and counter and overcome; and when it becomes a truism, we fight to try and prove its opposite.

Medical conditions prevail upon a stereotype like a winter’s storm or the devastation of a hurricane upon a coastal town.  Our image of ourselves is quite different: vibrant; still much contribution to give; still full of life, hope and happiness.  Yet, others begin to see you as the doddering old man or woman who can no longer contribute to the mission of the Federal Agency or the Postal Service.  That is how Federal agencies and Postal facilities view you.  Let them.

Consult with an OPM Medical Retirement Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of moving on to another career, another phase in life, another stage — and quit worrying about becoming a stereotype; for, in the end, it is the one who sees the world in images of stereotypes who are the stereotypical dunces who fail to ever grow beyond.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Disability Retirement Attorney

 

FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: The Wall

Everyone hits it; whether in writing, in speaking; whether of a career or in a marriage; and whether in a metaphorical sense, or a true feeling that simply cannot be avoided.  Walls are structures that stop, contain, prevent or present an obstacle.  The question is: What do we do about it?  Do we simply stop, turn around and go back to whence we came?  Do we sit at the foot of the wall and merely groan incessantly, hoping that time will crumble the materials of stoppage and somehow it will all just go away?  Or do we attempt to do something — cut a hole through it, climb over it, try and find an alternate route around it?

How we solve problems; what tools we bring to the fore; the manner in which we attempt to tackle life’s conundrums; these are the mark of a successful approach to each and every wall built as an obstacle to the pathways that are presented to us in life.

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 walls are many: First, there is the wall of the medical condition itself; then, there is often the wall of the Federal Agency or the Postal Service who cares not about the medical condition, but only that the work is accomplished and completed.  Then, there is the “wall” of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — the very agency which will decide the Federal or Postal employee’s Federal Disability Retirement application.

Consult with an OPM Disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the wall of denial that is potentially looming prevents you from moving beyond your medical condition and your inability to perform you job duties.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Finishing a Novel

There is a great sense of accomplishment in finishing a novel, just as there is in completing any task or endeavor begun and ended.  Reading is a peculiar and unique endeavor: Of being able to become transported into a fantasy world created for no other reason than to become lost.  You can travel to other countries, become a part of a stranger’s life, or enter into a universe where time matters not, space is of little value and worlds can be quite different from the one you are familiar with.

Reality can jolt you out of the imagination of your mind created by the mere reading of a couple of pages, and then after the chore is done, you can pick right back where you left off, by picking back up the novel left — and upon rereading that sentence you had left behind, get right back into the world of the author’s tale.

Compared to the actual cost of a plane ticket, hotel and expenses, reading a novel which takes place in a country of your choice is relatively inexpensive.  The novels we read tell much about the person we are, just like the novels we create reflect the lives we live.  And just as in fictional storytelling, there is much in real life that we cannot control — one’s health being one of those circumstances over which we have little, if any at all.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it may be time to finish that “novel” which tells of a story of struggle and despair, and to begin a new one beyond a career with the Federal workforce.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and write the ending to your own novel — one that finishes with a theme different from the harassment at the hands of an agency or Postal unit that cares not for happy endings.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire