CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: OPM Decisions

Last Updated on August 31, 2022 by FERS Disability Attorney

One would like to think that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management takes each case independently, reviews each case according to the merit of that particular case, and that, based upon a fair, independent and careful evaluation process, a decision is made for an approval or disapproval.

When a decision from OPM reaches a Federal Disability Retirement applicant under the FERS system, that applicant will see such a decision, and that decision alone.  When a Federal or Postal Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement claims sees such a decision, it is clearly based upon a template, and after viewing thousands of such template-based decisions, a pattern begins to develop.

Templates are not in and of themselves a negative thing; one need not “reinvent the wheel” each and every time.  It is only when a template does not “fit” a particular case, or where it is clear that a decision contradicts the substantive content of the disability application or the documentary attachments, that there is any negative issue with a template.

Fortunately, most OPM decisions are fair and properly evaluative; every now and then, however, it is evident that a template-driven decision has been issued without thought or fair analysis.  That is when a true problem has arisen.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire