Can absence, alone, be enough to qualify a Postal or Federal Employee for  FERS or CSRS disability retirement through OPM?

Generally, no.  In many situations, a Postal worker or Federal employee’s medical condition is so severe that they cannot even attempt the attendance required of them.  In this cases, the employee’s absence from work due to a medical condition will be a factor in deciding whether the federal disability retirement applicant is eligible for  disability retirement benefits. However, there will usually need to [...]

In some situations,  OPM will grant your FERS or CERS disability retirement benefits, and later, make a determination that you are restored to earning capacity. At that point, they will stop paying your federal disability retirement benefits.

Many times, this happens in the case of annuities granted for mental health conditions like depression, PTSD, anxiety or stress disorders, etc.  The annuitant, after treatment, may see his or her condition temporarily improve, only to return to its disabling state at a later [...]

The subject of today’s post is whether obesity, or morbid obesity, might qualify you for FERS or CSRS Disability retirement through OPM.

Obesity is a well-recognized medical condition.  Unfortunately, too many  MSPB judges view this condition as one that is the “fault” of the person with obesity.   Medical experts have identified hundreds of medical conditions, or physical or genetic factors, which can cause obesity, including: reduced metabolic rates, pituitary gland disease, pituitary gland tumors, underactive thyroid, Prader-Willi syndrome, Stein-Leventhal syndrome, Frohlich [...]

Can  OPM deny a federal disability retirement application to a postal worker or federal employee on the grounds that they entered Federal Civil Service with a pre-existing condition?

In some unique situations,  OPM may be able to, so long as their decision does not lead to an absurd result.  In Davis v. OPM, 64 MSPR 1, 4 (1994), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reminded practitioners that where an appellant enters Federal service with a pre-existing medical condition, he or she will [...]

We recently learned of this exchange in oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court earlier this week, in a case styled Astrue v. Ratliff, an attorney fee case under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

In oral arguments, the government attorney conceded that in at least 50-60% of the claims in which the U.S. Government litigates with Veterans, the government position is not substantially justified.

The speakers in the excerpt below are U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Roberts and U.S. Solicitor [...]

When is the best time to apply for  federal disability retirement as a federal employee or a postal worker?  The quick and easy answer to this question is “when you can no longer work because of your medical condition”.

If you have medical conditions, however, and you still want to work, then  federal disability retirement may not be the first or most ideal step for you.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, and the Rehabilitation Act, [...]

A client of the Attig Law Firm and an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs received a finding of discrimination and award of damages from the EEOC.

Our client is a 28 year civil servant, who applied for an Engineering Draftsman job with the VA.  The client was found to be not “minimally qualified” for the job, and as a result, he was not selected.  At hearing, the client and the Attig Law Firm provided evidence that the ranking official’s [...]

Here is a link to a great article about OPM Deputy Director Christine Griffin. Ms. Griffin is working to improve the Federal Government’s track record in hiring diverse applicants.  It appears that her focus will be on increasing diversity in Federal Government for females, Hispanics, and disabled workers.

The Federal Government is tasked, by law, with being the Model Employer for hiring and retaining and accommodating disabled employees.  However, in every year since 1994 (with one exception), the percentage of disabled [...]

A federal employee is suing  OPM based on its denial of federal health insurance benefits.  The federal employee is a lawyer employed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. She was married in California when the state permitted same-sex marriages.

You can read more about the case on the Washington Post (Federal Diary) website.

The Attig Law Firm represents federal employees and postal workers nationwide in their disability retirement applications, disability discrimination claims, wrongful suspension and termination claims, and other [...]

One of the requirements of a postal worker or federal employees  federal disability retirement application is the supervisor statement.  In the supervisor statement, the federal employee’s supervisor certifies a number of things. One of things that the federal employee supervisor certifies in the application for federal disability retirement is that the employing federal agency is unable to accommodate the employee.

The question is often asked – how far does the Agency have to go in attempting to accommodate the Federal employee [...]