Robert R McGill Administrative Law Blog

     In the process of applying for Federal Disability retirement under FERS or CSRS, it is the "hope and wish" of each applicant that it will smoothly sail through at the initial stage of the application.  However, the reality of the process is that a certain percentage of applications get denied at the initial stage (Stage 1 of the process).  It is both discouraging and befuddling to receive a letter from the Office of Personnel Management... Read More

     I have been asked, via multiple emails, of my opinion concerning the right time to file for disability retirement, given the state of the current economy.  I am not an economist; I am an attorney who specializes in obtaining disability retirement benefits for Federal and Postal employees under FERS & CSRS.  With that prefatory caution, let me state that I am an optimist, and always see the glass as "half full" as opposed to "half... Read More

     Not all cases that should be won, are won.  No one can win 100% of the time; think about it -- even the best Major League Baseball players strike out at least 2 out of every 3 at-bats.  Most strike out every 3 out of 4 times.  Fortunately, I am able to pass through a high percentage of my clients at Stages 1 or 2 of the Disability Retirement process, and that is how it should be.  Every now and again, however, a case must go to the Merit... Read More

     I often receive telephone calls from Federal and Postal employees worried about what their Supervisor will write in the SF 3112B (Supervisor's Statement) -- the lies, half-truths, and vindictive statements that some Supervisors will, for whatever reason, attempt to have that "last parting shot".  Such acts by supervisors are, for the most part, and fortunately, the exception, and not the rule; but each time it happens, it is despicable to the... Read More

     It is now post-Labor Day Weekend.  Summer is essentially over.  The Office of Personnel Management will be back in "full force".  The inclination will be to call up OPM and impatiently -- imprudently -- demand that one's disability retirement application be reviewed, because it has been sitting on Mr or Ms. X's desk for the last 90 days.  Be cautious of what you request, or demand -- because you may get your wish, but with an outcome... Read More

     I keep getting the same feedback that tells me that people are still receiving erroneous information:  SSA disability benefits do NOT have to be applied for first before you file for OPM Disability retirement benefits.  In fact, the Office of Personnel Management only needs the receipt showing that a disability retirement annuitant filed for SSA disability benefits at the time of approval.  Further, OPM would actually prefer that the SSA denial was... Read More

     Summer is almost at an end.  The Postal Service, through the auspices of the Office of Personnel Management, is offering Voluntary Early Retirement (VER).  For many, this is a positive thing; the decision to take the VER should be a financial decision.  An analysis comparing the monetary return should be made between what an employee would receive under the VER and under disability retirement; if the financial difference is great, then obviously the... Read More

     When people call me to ask if they need legal representation in filing for disability retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, I try and provide as "objective" an opinion on the matter as possible.  I represent hundreds of people in filing for, and obtaining, disability retirement benefits; it is my specialty, and it is how I make a living.  At the same time, however, I believe that I can be completely honest in providing guidance as to whether... Read More

     Vanieken-Ryals v. OPM, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on November 26, 2007, has an interesting statement from the deciding Judge, which can be used as "firepower" for anyone who is attempting to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits (note of caution:  for lay non-attorneys, be careful in how you use it in trying to convince a lay, non-attorney OPM representative):  "In addition, neither the MSPB nor OPM... Read More

   Remember that the applicant who is requesting disability retirement benefits from the Office of Personnel Management always has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she is entitled and eligible for disability retirement benefits.  Even if the Agency proposes and effectuates a removal based upon one's medical inability to perform the essential elements of one's job (thereby invoking the "Bruner Presumption"); nevertheless, the... Read More