Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: The Rule of Words

Last Updated on December 26, 2022

When does a child recognize the power of language?  Perhaps it is at the moment when the ineffective response to a tantrum occurs, precisely because the demands conveyed by the destructive actions have not been adequately understood.  But once the verbal ransom is received, linked to the potential screams and flailing of arms and legs, hence the power of words becomes consciously recognized.

Linguistic leverage contains a duality of meaning when stated in the concept of a “rule”; on the one hand, it means that there are certain criteria which must be followed in order to maintain the protocol of meaning and conceptual comprehension and intelligibility, as in the statement, “The Rules of language must be followed”; on the other hand, it can also convey the idea that language encompasses a power beyond the mere visibility on paper or on screen, as in: “Language rules the day”.  It is the combination of both which, when followed and applied effectively, allows for the explosive efficacy of a presentation.

For Federal and Postal employees who are considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether one is under FERS or CSRS, it is always important to understand and appreciate the fact that a Federal Employee or Postal Service Disability Retirement application is first and foremost a paper presentation to the office which makes a determination on the packet.  Thus, tantrums and pleas will not move the bureaucracy; however, effective word usage will.

The connection between action and language must be contained in the Federal or Postal Disability Retirement presentation itself, through effective and persuasive use of language.  When once upon a time a tantrum served one’s purposes well, such a time became long past when the rest of the world determined that language needed to be delinked from actions, and it is language alone which would rule the day.

For Federal and Postal employees suffering from a medical condition such that the medical condition impacts the ability to perform all of the essential or basic elements of one’s job, the “action” part of the process is left to dealing with the medical condition itself.  For the formulation and filing for the administrative procedures identified as “Federal Disability Retirement benefits”, it is the language itself which will rule the day, by following the effective rules of language.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire