WELCOME TO THE OPM DISABILITY RETIREMENT BLOG:

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR INFORMATION AND ADVICE RELATED TO FERS DISABILITY RETIREMENT

If you are a busy federal employee who just needs the basics of how to win OPM Disability Retirement, check out the "Don't Be A Dummy" page. It is a quick and dirty introduction to the 5 core principles of Disability Retirement - and the basic winning strategies you will need to know in your upcoming battle with OPM (trust us, it is often a battle). Right now, there are only three core principles – we will add two others shortly.

If your questions are more specific or you just want more information, check out the "Essential Legal Manual" for FAQ's that cover most aspects of FERS Disability Retirement.

The Articles page is exactly what it sounds like. Harvey has written many in-depth articles on the inner-workings of OPM Disability Retirement, including "Why Getting Fired Can Be A Blessing," "My Client Had Fibromyalgia," and "Denying the Right to Counsel." You can see some of them here on the front page.

If you want to get to know Harvey a little better, I encourage you to check out Harvey Talk! (Our podcast series) and About the Author. The podcasts are a quick and fun way to get a taste of what Harvey is like as a lawyer: someone who has been helping federal employees get benefits for 30 years. Harvey no longer takes cases, but runs this advice blog as a hobby.

Lastly, if you are seriously considering disability retirement, reconsideration, or a final appeal to the MSPB, then I highly encourage you to speak with Harvey on the phone. Every case is unique and you deserve quality advice. Harvey likes talking to people - he'll take his time, offer advice, and won't charge a dime. I promise it will be an enjoyable conversation.

To get in touch, fill out the contact form on the right side of this page*. I (Harvey's trusty sidekick/blog manager) will email or call you to make arrangements as to the best time to talk to Harvey. I think you will find him to be like a neighborhood lawyer from years gone by that you might simply have dropped in on for a chat.

*Any information you provide either on this website or over the phone is entirely confidential and will not be given to any other party without your express permission. Also, we don't run an email list so don't worry about getting a bunch of spam.

Recent Articles

A Good Doctor is the Real Key to Winning

Podcast #3: A Good Doctor is the Real Key to Winning: Transcript edited for clarity: How do you know if you are eligible for Disability Retirement? There is a legal standard, but you probably would have a difficult time figuring out if you… Read more

A Good Lawyer is the Key to Winning - But What About the Fee?

Podcast: Transcript edited for clarity: How come you retired? I’m old! I’m 77! When I turned 75, I said, “OK, that’s enough, time to play!” Then how come you are still doing this blog? Because I can’t retire. I unplugged… Read more

The OPM Disability Retirement Catch-22

Summary: OPM Disability Retirement requires an applicant to submit a “checklist” form. This checklist form is entirely redundant, but poses a challenge because OPM requires someone at the applicant’s federal agency to fill it out. … Read more

Getting Fired Can Be A Blessing - If You Want OPM Disability Retirement

Summary: Your Chance Of Winning OPM Disability Retirement Can Be Dramatically Increased If You Are Fired By Your Agency Because Your Medical Condition Precludes you from Performing Your Job. It may or may not surprise you but a Federal employee can b… Read more

Cheated out of Disability Retirement

OPM DISABILITY RETIREMENT APPLICANTS ARE ROUTINELY CHEATED OUT OF DISABILITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS BY ADJUDICATORS WHO ARE UNTRAINED IN THE RELEVANT LAW AND MEDICINE I have evidence that OPM denies disability retirement benefits based on a bogus law—… Read more

My Client Had Fibromyalgia

If you are considering disability retirement for Fibromyalgia, you should get to know what you might be up against. My client had fibromyalgia. She couldn’t do her secretarial duties. She couldn’t make it out of bed most mornings given he… Read more

OPM: Tampering with the Scales of Justice

The Law Requires That In Deciding Whether Or Not You Are Entitled To Disability Retirement, OPM Must “Weigh” The Evidence, As It Would On A Scale. If The Evidence In Your Favor Weighs More Than The Evidence Not In Your Favor, You Win And… Read more

OPM Contract Physicians

OPM Contract Physicians, many of whom are military doctors with specialties such as trauma surgery, reconstruction, diving or flying related conditions, etc., routinely advise adjudicators on cases well outside their areas of expertise. What does a N… Read more

Preponderance of Evidence

AT OPM, WINNING OR LOSING DISABILITY RETIREMENT HAS ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LAW AND ALMOST EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHICH SIDE OF THE BED THE OPM ADJUDICATOR GOT UP ON. The law provides one single way to decide whether or not you are entitled to d… Read more

Denying the Right to Counsel

OPM’S DISABILITY RETIREMENT DIVISION RARELY RESPECTS AN APPLICANTS LEGAL RIGHT TO BE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL THEY REFUSE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS OPM’S POLICY TO RESPECT THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL. Every client of mine signs a “Designation of Representati… Read more

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Articles

Preponderance of Evidence

Getting Fired Can Be A Blessing - If You Want OPM Disability Retirement

Essential Legal Manual

What Are OPM's "Official" Criteria For Determining If You Have A Winning Case?

Below are OPM's stated criteria for winning FERS Disability Retirement Cases. Now, what does this gobbledygook mean? There are thousands of cases defining what these criteria mean, and new cases redefine the criteria all the time. Thus, these criteria are anything but straightforward. The ultimate point here is that you need someone with a knowledge of the case law which interprets these criteria, knowledge which you likely don't have, but a good lawyer should have.

OPM's Seven Criteria:

Required Documentation

To decide if your disability claim is allowable, OPM considers the documentary evidence you, your agency, and your physician provide. Your claim can be allowed only if the evidence establishes that you meet all of the following criteria:

A deficiency in service with respect to performance, conduct or attendance, or, in the absence of any actual service deficiency, a showing that your medical condition is incompatible with other useful service or retention in the position.

A medical condition, which is defined as a health impairment resulting from a disease or injury, including a psychiatric disease.

A relationship between the service deficiency and the medical condition such that the medical condition has caused the service deficiency.

The disability must be expected to last at least one year.

You became disabled while serving under the Federal Employees Retirement System.

The inability of your employing agency to make reasonable accommodation to your medical condition.

The absence of another available position, within the employing agency and commuting area, at the same grade or pay level and tenure, for which you are qualified for reassignment. OPM will not pay for any medical examination or procedure needed to provide the necessary documentation.

What is the "Supervisor's Statement", and how important is it?

ANSWER: The "Supervisors Statement" is a required form which is nearly identical for both FERS and CSRS employees. It requires the supervisor to provide specific information about your performance, attendance, and behavior on the job. It is assumed that these are reliable indicators of whether you are unable to render "useful and efficient service" and thus whether you are considered disabled from your job.

The importance of the "Supervisor's Statement" varies with the nature of the case and with the individuals at OPM who review it. In short, its impact can't be measured. Since it could be important, you want it to be as much in your favor as possible. To that end, you should encourage your supervisor to provide as helpful a response as is possible. However, even if your supervisor did everything possible to be unhelpful, that would not necessarily prevent you from gaining disability retirement.

If you have previously received satisfactory or excellent evaluations in spite of your declining performance, your supervisor may worry about suddenly having to downplay your performance for the purpose of the disability retirement application. However, this has never been a real problem, given the universal understanding that performance evaluations often have little relationship to performance. Anyway, few would challenge a supervisor who refused to record the diminished performance of a once excellent, but now ailing, subordinate.