OPM Disability Retirement: Differing Perspectives
The old adage, “Walk in your fellow man’s shoes for a mile” is a saying which is meant essentially to teach a child (and many adults) to have a different perspective than one’s own, […] Read More …
accommodation of federal employees
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Agencies Rarely Accommodate
For whatever reasons, Federal Agencies rarely accommodate an individual who has a medical condition which impacts one or more of the essential elements of one’s job. Whether the Supervisor […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Don’t Confuse the Standards
People who call me for advice, who are potential candidates as clients for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, often interchangeably use terms which apply to different standards: standards of total disability as […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Disability Retirement: OWCP & the Postal Service
For many years, being on Worker’s Comp when injured while working for the Postal Service, worked fairly well. The Postal Service, in conjunction with, and in coordination, would offer an […] Read More …
CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Reasonable Accommodation by the Agency
Often, aside from having submitted insufficient medical documentation to support a Federal Disability retirement application, the Office of Personnel Management will deny a case based upon a statement submitted by […] Read More …
Recurring Issues of Disability Accommodation, Light & Limited Duty, and the Form Filling of the OPM SF 3112D PDF File
The issue of Agency Accommodations — whether or not an agency can truly “accommodate” an individual; what constitutes a legal accommodation as opposed to temporary light-duty arrangements which do not constitute legally viable accommodations under the standards as expressed in Bracey v. OPM and other cases — keeps coming up in the form of questions and Read More …
Additional Guidance on Disability Retirement Supervisor’s Statement
Some have asked me whether acceptance of a temporary light duty assignment is of concern in a disability retirement application. If you look at SF 3112B (Supervisor’s Statement), Section E(3), the question is whether the employee has “been reassigned to ‘light duty’ or a temporary position? If the Supervisor answers “No”, then of course there Read More …
Accommodation Under FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement
The issue of Accommodations is always an important one in FERS & CSRS disability retirement cases. Agencies on the one hand will often attempt to “put together” a set of duties for the employee to perform, and try and keep a productive employee with the Agency. There is nothing wrong with this. Indeed, it may Read More …