Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Continuing Confusions

Last Updated on October 8, 2010

In Federal Disability Retirement law under FERS & CSRS, the issue concerning accommodations can continue to remain a rather confusing area of law.  This is especially true when an Agency allows for an individual, either in the Postal Service (which is becoming rarer because of the prevailing winds of the National Reassessment Program) or in the non-Postal, Federal sector, to remain in a position and perform much of the lighter duties of the job, and to allow for one or more of the essential duties of the job to be delegated to others, or not be performed at all.  Now, such a situation can continue on for years, and there is nothing inherently wrong with such an arrangement (aside from the fact that the other Federal workers to whom such work is “delegated” may grumble and complain about fairness or, more likely, that some of the work is never completed), especially if the work which the injured individual performs is valuable to the Agency — even in such a “light duty” status.  

What must be kept in mind, however, regarding the relevance and significance to filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, is that throughout the entire time-period of being on such light duty, the Federal or Postal worker could have, at any time, filed for Federal Disability Retirement benefits and should have been approved.  This is because such temporary “light duty” arrangements never constituted an “accommodation” under the law, and the Federal or Postal worker was eligible for Federal Disability Retirement benefits regardless of remaining in the “light duty” job.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

2 thoughts on “Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: Continuing Confusions”

  1. I just wanted to say I am so happy to find a link to your website on http://www.Workplacebullying.org . Your information is invaluable to me. I am under FERS and very ill due to WPB and on LWOP under FMLA.

    I would like also likw to hear your thoughts/comments on this NEW Database that I hear about where employers now look up new prospects where older employers imput whether an employee ever filed for Workmans Comp, went on Leave Without Pay, filed a grievance, applied for the Leave Donation Program, applied for Disability Retirement, and so forth… What do you know about this Database? Thanks

    Thank You and God Bless!
    Kusa

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