Sometimes, the question comes up as to whether or not it is important to have the blessing or support of the USPS, when filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.
My answer to such a question is fairly uniform and redundant: this is a medical disability retirement; it is unwise to proceed to apply for Federal Disability Retirement benefits on the assumption that your Supervisor or Management will be supportive, for there is no guarantee as to what “supportive” means (they may have a completely different understanding or definition of the concept than you do — something which you probably learned over many years of working in the US Postal Service), and further, the primary focus from the perspective of the Office of Personnel Management, is upon the medical evidence presented and how the medical condition impacts one or more of the essential elements of your job.
The Supervisor’s Statement should be minimized in importance and relevance, as much as possible, by ensuring that the rest of the disability retirement application is “excellent”. By doing this, you neutralize any undue dependence upon your supervisor’s alleged “support” of your application.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
I was told by the compensatioon unit where I used to work ( at the PO) that my case was lost in the shuffle doing the 90s. She stated to me that she would get my letters inquiring about my rights to return to work but she would just put my inquries in a file and did know what to do with them. she literally stated to me that it was her job to make reasonable accomnidations for but she just did not I have beenon Injury comp for over 35yrs. A plan was never put in place for me to return to . No reasonable accomdation was ever considered.
i have been on disability with the u.s. dept of labor’s owcp for the past 17 years because of bring injured on the job . i have had 2 major surgeries on my cervical spine . i am 56 yrs old and my condition has been diagnosed as not getting any better as i grow older . i was removed very conveniently in the yr 2009 just as i was eligible to apply for postal retirement disability . i was told to apply for this program and when i did i was told by my doctor that owcp told them that they could not fill out the information required by the opm because i was on the rolls of owcp . i’m very confused because while i attempted to have the information completed before the 1 yr deadline elapsed . while i waited for a response from the opm i later found out that my paper work was sent to the wrong office by my physician and i had to fill out another set of papers stating my intent to apply for u.s. postal disability retirement . i’m very worried as to what my status is and what i’m supposed to do about it . my doctors have told me that owcp told them i could not file for this because i can’t receive owcp and postal disability at the same time but , it was not my intent to do so . i filed because the postal service removed me from the rolls and advised me to file for disability retirement . if someone from owcp all of a sudden sends me a letter stating that i am no longer eligible to receive payments for my disability i would be in utter shock because my injury to my cervical spine has left me unable to work in any capcity and i have no other source of income to support myself . i need help from some office in the u.s. govt. syatem to explain to me what are my options for my future as it relates to being employed is very bleak due to the nature of my injury . if there is anyone out there who can assist me with what to do about my situation please contact me at (###-###-#### -cell) or (###-###-#### ext####home) HELP!!! thank you sincerely sheldon hudson