The point cannot be stressed enough – do not miss your deadlines in a federal disability retirement application or appeal.   The major deadlines are:

1) Terminated or otherwise separated federal employees must apply for  disability retirement within one year of separation

2) If you are denied federal  disability retirement by  OPM, you must request reconsideration from  OPM within thirty (3o) days of the denial.

3) If  OPM denies reconsideration of your application for federal disability retirement, you have thirty (30) days to file [...]

One of the parts of the Federal  disability retirement package submitted to OPM and your Agency is SF-3112C, called the “Physician’s Statement”.  In all actuality, this is a deceptive name to the form, as what you are doing by signing this form in Block 5 is giving full access to your medical records not only to  OPM but to your employing agency.  We won’t use this form for many reasons, a few of which are listed here.

1. It is not HIPAA [...]

ABC News is broadcasting video tonight of an FAA seminar in Atlanta.  Federal whistleblowers have reported that the FAA may have spent $5 million dollars to bring 3,600 managers to a conference in Atlanta that critics are saying was nothing more than a 3-week long Christmas party.  In response the FAA said that it was not a party but essential training sessions for the managers to learn.  The video footage of this party looks like no [...]

A Federal Employee won recognition from President Obama by proposing an idea that could save the Federal Government up to $3.8 million annually.

The SAVE program (Securing Americans Value and Efficiency Award) recognizes citizens that come up with ways to save the Federal Government money.

This Federal Employee’s idea was to allow patients who leave VA hospitals to keep inhalers, eye drops or other leftover medications when they leave the hospital.  Until now, the VA would throw away those medicines, and then [...]

Beginning December 23, 2009, the Attig Law Firm will charge the following fees for  disability retirement applications and MSPB appeals:

1) Consultation Fee. We will only charge a consultation fee for Federal disability retirement applicants who have had their claim denied and are seeking representation before the  MSPB.  If you are looking for legal help in filing your first application for Federal disability retirement, you will be charged no consultation fee.

2) Fees for Initial Applications for Federal disability retirement. After providing [...]

Before discussing this question, I want to say that no federal disability retirement lawyer can tell you if any one condition will get you accepted for  disability retirement.  The key element of a disability retirement case is its connection to your ability to perform the essential functions of your current position.

Having said that, mental health conditions can (and do) form the basis for successful  disability retirement applications.  There are some hurdles to overcome, but here are just a few examples [...]

I get this question a lot from Law Enforcement Officers and Air Traffic Controllers who have (usually) much higher retirement annuities by law.  The question is: can I collect my ATC or  LEO disability retirement, then go back to work for the federal government in another job and still collect my annuity?

Under this scenario, the former federal employee would be known as a re-employed annuitant.  Generally, re-employed annuitants must make a service credit deposit to make up for the portions [...]

The title of this post has been appearing in recent emails and contacts to our Firm with increasing frequency. In the opinion of this author, it is the wrong question to be asking.

The reason I say this is the wrong question is that the Federal employee does not want to go out and find some random doctor who will support their claim that they are unable to work and therefore eligible for federal  disability retirement. On the other [...]

Here is a common scenario.  You have left federal civil service or your job with the Postal Service.   Within the first year after you leave, you want to file an application for Federal disability retirement.   You need a “supervisor statement”, but nobody at the Agency will return your calls, or when they do, they don’t seem to know what to do.

This problem usually occurs for employees that have left their federal civil service or postal job, and are [...]

The following Press Release has been cut and pasted directly from the Government Accountability Project (www.whistleblower.org) website, and was not written by the Attig Law Firm:

“Maria Garzino, United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) mechanical and civil engineer, will be awarded the 2009 Public Servant Award of the Year by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) on Wednesday, December 16.

Garzino is credited with revealing the inadequate state of New Orleans floodwater pumps built by the USACE after Hurricane Katrina. The [...]