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     Remember to not spite yourself, especially when it comes to financial considerations.  If your medical disability is forcing you to take excessive LWOP, it might be better to go "cold turkey" and stay completely out on LWOP while you file for disability retirement benefits.  This is because, once you get your disability retirement application approved, you will be paid "back pay" in a lump-sum form, back to the last day of your pay, at... Read More

     Often, pragmatic judgments and decisions must be considered at different stages of a disability retirement application.  For instance, whether to submit all of the medical documentation in your possession is a discretionary judgment which needs to be considered.  One might wonder why an applicant may withhold some or part of the medical documentation, and the answer is quite simple:  if the Office of Personnel Management requests additional... Read More

     One would assume that when a disability retirement application has been reviewed by someone at the Office of Personnel Management, and a decision of denial has been rendered, that such a decision will -- at a bare minimum -- be based upon a legally sufficient ground.  In other words, that the legal criteria asserted in the decision will be correctly delineated.  Unfortunately, that is too often not the case.  In fact, many of the legal claims... Read More

     In most instances, when I am asked to represent an applicant at the Reconsideration Stage, after he or she has attempted to obtain an approval at the Initial Stage without an attorney, I find that the prevailing mistake made is the exaggerated verbosity of the statement itself.  The old adage from Shakespeare, which (I know) is too often quoted (and misquoted), from Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2, where Queen Gertrude responds by saying, "The lady doth protest... Read More

    Remember that in issues concerning accommodations for FERS & CSRS Federal & Postal employees, there is nothing inherently wrong with an Agency offering you modified or light duty assignments.  If your Agency deems you to be valuable, they may want to modify your position in order to keep you.  However, the mere fact that you accept and work at a "modified" position does not mean that you are thereby precluded, down the road, from filing... Read More

     In filing for Federal disability retirement benefits, there are essentially 3 stages -- the initial application Stage; the Reconsideration Stage; and the appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (and, of course, additionally if you are denied at all three stages, you can go further and file a Petition for Review with the MSPB, and beyond that, file an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court).  Do not approach all of the first three stages in the same way;... Read More