The theory of the interconnectedness of each species in the universe is

based upon the idea of a teleological spectrum. For if the fox which raids the

hen house were to stop raiding, and the hens in the hen house were to stop

disappearing, who would collect all of the eggs?  And if the farmer became

wealthy because of all of the eggs gathered, and went to live in early

retirement as a wealthy ex-farmer, who would farm?  And if Joe could no

longer find eggs at the local supermarket, and decided instead to go fox hunting

because there was nothing left to do, but couldn't find a fox to hunt because

they had all moved to the North Pole because Mr. Farmer closed down his hen

house, then what are we all to do?

-- From Fables of Logical Absurdities

Federal and postal employees who are preparing an application for

Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS should always prepare such an

application as a submission to be reviewed by a full "administrative

process". 

More often than not, I receive a call from a potential client who believes

that his or her Disability Retirement application should receive an "easy

approval".  If skepticism rewards in wealth and fame, I would indeed be

enjoying an abundance of both.  For, despite the over-abundance of

confidence in one's disability retirement application (everyone seems to have

heard about "Joe down at Agency X who got a disability retirement application

approved for an infected hangnail"), most Federal and Postal employees need to

properly, systematically, and coherently prepare a Federal Disability Retirement

packet with great care.

The very first step in properly preparing for a Federal Disability Retirement

application is to expect to have his or her submission subjected to the full

gamut of the administrative process.  Such an expectation serves two

purposes:  (1)  In the event of one or more denials at the Agency

level (the initial submission and review to and by the Office of Personnel

Management; the Second Stage of the Process, the Reconsideration Stage, also by

the Office of Personnel Management), the applicant is mentally and emotionally

prepared for the long-term fight to obtain the benefits, as well as financially

prepared to undertake the process, and just as importantly, (2) to prepare the

disability retirement packet in such a way that it will withstand the further

scrutiny by the later stages of the administrative process - the Merit Systems

Protection Board, the Petition for Full Review by the MSPB, and if necessary,

the last appellate stage, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

After the Office of Personnel Management has denied the application for

Federal Disability Retirement benefits both at the initial stage as well as the

Reconsideration Stage, the "appellant" (so named as the person who will be

appealing a denial to the next stage of the process) has the right to file an

appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).  The case will be

heard by an Administrative Judge (an "AJ"), and effectively he takes the case

out of the jurisdiction of the Office of Personnel Management, and independently

reviewed on what is called a de novo basis.  This means that it

will be heard by the AJ anew, afresh, or "from the

beginning".   

De novo, however, does not mean that what was previously submitted

by the Federal/Postal employee/applicant is set aside into a black hole, to be

disregarded and forgotten; rather, it means that the decisions

previously handed down by the Office of Personnel Management will have no

abiding impact, and the Administrative Judge will be reviewing the case afresh -

looking at all of the medical submissions, the Standard Forms, the Supervisor's

Statement, the Applicant's Statement of Disability, etc.; then, holding a

Hearing to take the testimony of any relevant additional information:  for

Federal Disability Retirement cases, this would normally mean direct testimony

from the treating doctor.

This is where the "interconnectedness of each species in the universe" of

Federal and Postal Disability Retirement comes into play:  at the initial

stage of preparing a disability retirement application, it is important to

prepare the submission with a view towards having it reviewed by an

Administrative Judge at the Merit Systems Protection Board.  This view of

preparing a Federal Disability Retirement case "for the long haul" is important

in at least two (2) respects:  First, because it forces

one to prepare a case in a deliberative, sobering fashion (the juxtaposition of

consciously picturing a disability retirement application being reviewed by some

unknown person at the Office of Personnel Management, as opposed to having it

reviewed by an Administrative Judge), and Second, if the

applicant understands at the outset that, under 5 C.F.R. Section 1201.56 (a)(2),

the Appellant "has the burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence," to

prove his or her case as to "entitlement to the benefits", then the seriousness

of the application process will naturally force the applicant/appellant to

 prepare the case with a different attitude.

It is indeed a rare species of a Federal Disability Retirement application

that it will receive an "easy approval."  When I am speaking to a potential

client, I often paint a word picture in the following way:  Imagine a

linear spectrum where all Federal and Postal Disability Retirement applications

are placed.  On the far left side is a Postal City Letter Carrier who

suffers a grievous injury and becomes a quadriplegic.  That person simply

needs to gather up his medical records and fill out the Standard Forms, and file

it with the Office of Personnel Management. Such a person can be fairly certain

that his case is a "one-stage" filing.   On the far right side of the

spectrum, is an Information Technology Specialist who suffers from anxiety and

panic attacks.  That person will not only need to prepare his case well,

but moreover, will likely need the expertise of an attorney who specializes in

Federal Disability Retirement cases.  Now, as to the majority of everyone

else:  you all fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. 

By being in the "middle of the spectrum", it means that all such cases

should, and must, be prepared for the "long haul".  Furthermore, the

long-haul often includes those steps beyond the Merit Systems Protection Board,

for a Petition for Full Review at the MSPB, and further, to the U.S. Court of

Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Each step of the process requires a

further building block in the foundation; each foundation needs to be securely

structured with a sound legal basis, built upon solid facts, persuasive medical

evidence, and a compelling story of how a loyal Federal or Postal employee began

to suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition worsened to

a point where he or she could no longer perform one or more of the essential

elements of one's job. 

Such a story must, at each stage of the process, meet the legal standard of

"preponderance of the evidence," and because of this, each Federal Disability

Retirement application must be prepared to go through the entire administrative

process of review.  Failure to do so may mean greater travails later in the

process; success in the initial preparation of the process provides for a better

chance that one's Federal Disability Retirement application will only need to be

a "one-stage" filing.  All of which brings us back to the oldest adage of

all:  Penny wise, pound foolish.

About the Author

Robert R. McGill is an attorney who specializes in federal disability

retirement, a practice area he dedicates 100% of his time helping Federal and

Postal workers secure their disability retirement benefits under both FERS and

CSRS. For more information about his legal services, publications and forum,

please visit his CSRS

and FERS Disability Retirement Website