OPM Disability Retirement: As Strong As the Weakest Link

Have you ever heard the phrase, that “X is only as strong as the weakest link”? What does that mean? When applied to Federal Disability Retirement applications, it has significance and application […] Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement: The Process at the MSPB

When a FERS or CSRS disability retirement application has made its way in the “process” to the “Third Stage” — the Merit Systems Protection Board — then I (as an attorney) must be unequivocal in my recommendation: You need an attorney. I believe that individuals […] Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement: Argument by Analogy

Attorneys argue “by analogy” all of the time; cases and decisions from the Merit Systems Protection Board, and language from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, provide the fertile fodder for such argumentation. Thus, such issues […] Read More …

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Attorney Representation

I am still often asked about whether or not, or how helpful, legal representation would be in a Federal or Postal Disability Retirement case. To ask an attorney such a question is often unhelpful, for there is always the question as to how much “self-interest” an attorney has in […] Read More …

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Beware the Layman

Attorneys create and manufacture a parallel universe of statutory interpretation, legal argumentation, case-law citations, and extrapolations from esoteric provisions in arguing the “finer points” of law. Thus, it is a temptation for the lay person […] Read More …

CSRS & FERS Disability for Federal and Postal Employees: The Federal Disability Attorney

I often get calls from people who have filed for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, from people who are represented by an attorney but who, for one reason or another, are not satisfied with the work that the attorney has performed. It is not, in my opinion, proper for an attorney to criticize […] Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement: The Time to File

A question often asked is, When is it the right time to file for Disability Retirement? Must you wait until one has been disabled for over a year? Do you have to file for Social Security first, before filing for OPM Disability Retirement? […] Read More …

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: The “Nexus” Between the Reconsideration Stage and the Merit Systems Protection Board

It is an accepted fact that there is a “psychological” aspect to almost everything in life, and this is no less true in the field of disability retirement law.  The “psychological” aspect is the nexus, or bridge, from the Reconsideration Stage to the Merit Systems Protection Board.  From OPM’s viewpoint, this is the last chance Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement: When it Gets to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

For whatever reason, a certain percentage of cases reach the third level in the process of applying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits:  The Merit Systems Protection Board.  If an individual is unrepresented at this level, the identical problem as that which occurs in any courtroom presents itself:  an attorney representing an individual provides an appearance Read More …

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: When to Get an Attorney

As I explain to all potential clients, whether an individual should attempt to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits with or without an attorney, is an individual and personal decision, based upon a number of factors. I place everyone on a spectrum:  on the far left side of the spectrum is a Letter Carrier who becomes Read More …