When a Federal employee finds his medical condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of the job, he is considered “disabled” under the Law, and therefore eligible for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. Such an individual will often not be accommodated by the Agency, if only because “accommodation”is a difficult requirement to fulfill.
These are 10 things to keep in mind when applying for FERS disability retirement.
In filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, it is often the unintentional statement which can devastate a Federal or Postal employee’s disability retirement application.
The purpose of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS is to get an approval from the Office of Personnel Management. One of the ways to be effective is to cite legal authorities which support the basic criteria for eligibility.
How does agency “accommodation” of an employee’s medical condition impact disability retirement?
When arguing a legal principle in an effort to obtain a benefit for a Federal or Postal Employee, effective advocacy sometimes requires two prerequisites: discretion and the recognition that “process” is sometimes as important as the “substance” of an argument.
In filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, it is often just as important for an applicant to know what will result in a denial of an application, as it is to know what is needed to get one approved.
The important question for the federal employee who files for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS is: What happens if the Office of Personnel Management denies my application? Is that the end of my chances?
The author says that two recent cases provide greater legal muscle for Federal and Postal employee in filing for Federal disability retirement benefits and represent needed legal refinements in the “evolving” process of law.
If you are going to apply for disability retirement, there are common principles you will want to follow in order to increase your chances of success under either the FERS or CSRS retirement systems. Here is an explanation of how this process works.
