The Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC

The failure of an employer to make a reasonable accommodation is a form of prohibited discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act.

Some federal employees may view Federal Disability Retirement with trepidation. These remain tough economic times and there are understandable concerns that you won’t be able to make up your former income after retirement.

Obesity or morbid obesity may qualify you for FERS or CSRS disability retirement through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The duty to provide reasonable accommodation does not apply to an employee who is unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job, according to a recent EEOC ruling.

In general, the answer is “no.” If you want to make a deposit for post-1956 military service such that credit for your military service will be reflected in your retirement annuity, you must complete OPM Form 1515: “Military Service Deposit Election” and submit this form with your retirement application to OPM. You will NOT be allowed to make any such deposits once your retirement benefits are approved.

Why light duty might not always be a reasonable accommodation for federal disability purposes.

Why the Accommodations Issue is Unlikely to Pose a Problem If You Are Filing for Federal Disability Retirement Benefits

Does the Federal Government Consider Me Disabled? As stated in previous posts, if you are disabled under the Rehabilitation Act (ADA) and you require a reasonable accommodation, the agency must provide you with that reasonable accommodation unless they can show that there is another less expensive effective accommodation, or they can show that accommodating you would be an “undue hardship” on the agency.

If you’ve already begun the process of applying for CSRS or FERS disability retirement benefits, then you’re probably intimately familiar with Standard Form 3112, “Documentation in Support of Disability Retirement Application.” For those who aren’t, there’s a section in the application called “Physician’s Statement,” which must be completed by your doctor.

Federal employee attorney Eric Pines tackles whether a federal employee will be considered disabled. In this series: Does the Federal Government Consider Me Disabled? We lay out the definitions of disabled under the Rehabilitation Act. In this post we will focus on whether a federal employee is entitled to his or her ideal accommodation? According to the Rehabilitation Act/ ADA says the answer is: Yes, but… not necessarily with the exact accommodation that you are seeking.

Federal employee attorney Eric Pines tackles whether a federal employee will be considered disabled. In the series: Does the Federal Government Consider Me Disabled (Part I)? We laid out the definitions of disabled under the Rehabilitation Act. In this post we will focus on what those definitions mean in the real world.

Federal employee attorney Eric Pines discusses whether you are disabled as a federal employee with a medical condition. As a federal employee attorney and advocate this question has often perplexed me. Why is this question so difficult? I mean either I have a disability or not, right? This is a question that comes up all too often for a federal employee and his or her advocate.