anxiety hostile work environment in federal workplace

OPM Medical Retirement Legal Representation: Sad stories

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Is sadness relative?  Are there sad stories that are so sad that even the ones that were considered sad prior to the sadder story being told, somehow nullify the lesser sad stories and make them into not sad stories?  Do we, after hearing the sadder tale, turn to the first story teller and say, “Yours was not so sad, after all, and in fact you have it pretty good”?  If a person tells of having just buried his mother, and you ask, “How old was she?” […] Read More …

Lawyer Representation OPM Disability Retirement: Perspective versus reality

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One may counter that the contrast is no different than that which we encounter daily, especially in this universe of millennials and post-millennial era – of opinion versus fact, or truth versus falsehood (and now the new one, of “news” versus “fake news” or “facts” versus “alternative facts”).  But “perspective” versus “reality” has some subtle nuances that need to be explicated.  For one thing, one’s perspective may be identical to the reality one possesses a perspective upon; […] Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement: The Happiness Goal

Posted onAuthorFederal Disability Retirement Attorney3 Comments

Whether human happiness is the goal to strive for, or as a byproduct to savor in those moments of sudden revelation, is for each individual to ascertain and abide by.  One can study the sages and philosophers and realize that there is a distinction to be made between joy and happiness, of contentment and satisfaction, and from a sense of peace as opposed to the turmoil of anxious foreboding. […] Read More …

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Cosmic Intransigence

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The complaint is most often heard in a converse manner — that because of the minutiae and daily details required of one’s energy, focus and concentration, the “larger picture” fails to be seen. But the reverse is just as true: we often overlook the significance of the mundane, justifying such neglect by arguing that it is the cosmic and universal principles which are of greater relevance; mere human beings within the aegis of humanity, are but flies in a smattering of a decaying universe. […] Read More …

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Systemic Problems

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When the residual impact of a crisis goes well beyond cosmetic concerns, the usual and customary description is that the “cause” involves “systemic” problems. Such foundational fissures can occur both in organizations, as well as in individuals. For Federal agencies, it may require a need for new leadership, or a restructuring of internal chains of command, and sometimes even outside intervention. […] Read More …

OPM Disability Retirement Application: Eligibility & Entitlement

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The two concepts are often confused; for the Federal employee and the U.S. Postal Service worker filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the frustration is often voiced precisely because of the misapplication of the legal import between them. Eligibility is determined by the contingencies which must be met, the thresholds of prerequisites which must be satisfied: […] Read More …