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 [...]

A recent decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reinforced a 2009 ruling that a Federal employee’s allegations are adequate to justify a hearing when she alleges she was forced to resign because the agency refused to accommodate her disability by allowing her to telecommute.

Generally, a federal employee’s resignation is voluntary. However, a Federal employee appealing to the  MSPB can allege that a resignation (or retirement) was involuntary. There are many basis for asserting involuntariness (misrepresentation, [...]

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 [...]

The  MSPB, with new Board members, issued three (3) decisions earlier this month.  Those three decisions had three things in common:

1) The employing Agency was the USPS in each of the  MSPB appeals

2) Each of the  MSPB Judges reversed was from the San Francisco Regional Office

3) Each of the 3 cases dealt with “restoration rights” for Federal employees who had recovered from an on-the-job injury.

4) Each of the 3 cases reinforced the incorporation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and [...]

Can a Federal Employee apply for disability retirement through OPM if they miss the 1-year deadline? There are situations where an untimely application might still be considered.

One such scenario where a former federal employee’s late application for disability retirement to OPM might be considered is when the federal employee has been mentally incompetent.

Generally, an application for disability retirement under FERS must be filed with an employee’s employing agency before the employee separates from service or with the former employing agency or [...]

There are, generally, four major leave-based adverse actions that a Federal Employee can challenge to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

1) AWOL

2) Failure to Follow Leave Requesting Procedures

3) Excessive Use of Approved Leave/Abuse of Leave

4) Enforced Leave

Click on the underlined text to read more about each charge and the elements.  When challenging an adverse action based on approval, disapproval, use or abuse of annual or sick leave before the  MSPB, the following statutes should always be considered as a defense or [...]

The Office of Federal Operations (OFO) recently reversed a USPS decision to dismiss a  reprisal claim and ordered an investigation. The decision serves to illuminate the basic elements of a  reprisal claim.

The law protects Federal Employees that have participated in  EEO activity against  reprisal by their supervisors and Federal Employing Agency. When the Federal Employee alleges  reprisal, the adverse action they allege as retaliatory need not be on that materially alter the terms and conditions of employment (i.e., [...]

An Agency can take disciplinary action or adverse action against a Federal Employee for being Absent Without Leave (AWOL).  Rarely, however, is the Federal Employee both absent from work and absent without approved leave.  Adverse actions involving AWOL before the  MSPB often involve questions of doctors’ appointments, improper denials of annual and/or sick leave, etc.

Therefore, if an Agency takes an adverse action against a Federal Employee for AWOL, it must prove its charges before the  MSPB.  In order to prove [...]

Both the MSPB and the EEOC afford Appellants (or Complainants) the opportunity to pursue discovery.   While the timelines and the amounts of discovery allowed are quite different, the basic ideas of what discovery is and how it should be used are very similar.

There are six (6) primary types of discovery in litigation in the United States (click on the links for the particular type of discovery you want to read about:
Requests for Admission (Click on link to read more [...]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently released its Annual Report on the Federal Workforce for FY 2008.  This report contains a lot of statistical information about EEO complaints and claims of discrimination against Federal Government Agencies.

Here are some interesting numbers from the Report for FY 2008:

1) Out of 8,036 requests for hearing, only 155 resulted in findings of discrimination by an EEOC Administrative Judge (roughly 2%);

2) Approximately 25.5% of EEO hearings resulted in a settlement in FY 2008;

3) [...]