The general rule for filing an application for federal disability retirement under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), is that a federal or postal employee must file the application for disability retirement within one (1) year of having “separated from the Federal Service.” This is established by law at 5 USC 8337 (b), where it specifically states that a claim can be received and reviewed by the Office of Personnel Management “only if the request is filed with the Office before the employee or member separates. of service or within 1 year thereafter, “and in 5 CFR (” Code of Federal Regulations “) Section 844.201,” an application for disability retirement is timely only if it is filed with the employing agency before the employee o Member separates from service, or with the former employing agency or OPM within 1 year thereafter. ” This is the “rule of law”, as explicitly stated in “the law”.
However, as with all laws, there may be exceptions, not only as stated in the statute itself, but also, as modified by a judge in federal court. It is important to know this last “modification” and “interpretation” of a statute, precisely because those “organic interpretations” of the statute are as much “law” as the statute itself. The statute itself allows an exception to the “1-year rule” (that a federal or postal employee must file an application for federal disability retirement under FERS or CSRS while in Federal Government employment, or within one (1) year of separation from Federal Service) – with the exception that the Office of Personnel Management may waive the 1-year statute of limitations “if the employee or Member is mentally incapable on the date of separation or within 1 year to thereafter, in which case the person or their representative must file the application with the former employing agency or OPM within 1 year after the date the person regains jurisdiction or a court appoints a fiduciary, whichever occurs First “. In simple and practical terms, this means that if a person, within the time required to apply for federal disability retirement benefits, is admitted to a psychiatric institution, then the 1-year rule does not begin until the person regains competence.
However, there is another exception to the 1-year rule, and it is this exception that is important to know. There are many occasions when a federal or postal employee is never informed of their separation from the federal government or the postal service. These people often follow a similar pattern or paradigm: A federal or postal employee is injured or unable to perform their job for medical reasons. You are determined to be eligible for Federal Workers’ Compensation benefits (Department of Labor, OWCP benefits under FECA) and remain in Federal Service while receiving OWCP benefits. A couple of years go by. Maybe more than a couple of years will pass. The Agency, realizing that the Federal or Postal employee will not return, “separates” the individual from Federal Government or Postal Service.
However, the problem occurs, and this problem occurs all too often, when the federal or postal employee is never informed of the separation. Why is this happening? Above all, because those who are on the OWCP lists, after a while, they forget. At the same time, because the federal agency or postal service needs to fill the “job title” with a working person, they simply initiate a standard Form 50 and separate the person from the federal service.
In fact, this is precisely what happened in Johnston v. OPM, 413 F.3d 1339 (US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, 2005), in which the Court granted a new exception to the 1-year rule, stating that the “one-year period set at 5 USC Section 8337 (b) arises with the agency’s notification to the employee that he has been fired for medical reasons. ” In addition, the Johnston Court cited 5 CFR Section 831.1205 (b) (1), which states that when an agency “issues a decision to remove an employee … but the removal is based on reasons apparently caused by an medical condition, the agency must inform the employee in writing of their potential disability retirement eligibility. ” Emphasis is added to the word “apparently”, because a Federal Agency (and the Postal Service) often do not explicitly state that a person is being removed for a medical condition, despite all the facts and circumstances surrounding a Federal o Postal the dismissal of the employee clearly and irrefutably establishes said basis.
Where does all this leave us? I receive numerous phone calls from people who have been on the Office of Workers’ Compensation lists, who never applied for federal disability retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS. Furthermore, they were never informed of their separation from the Federal Service. Such former federal or postal employees are beginning to inquire about applying for federal disability retirement benefits because they are receiving indications that OWCP benefits will soon end. Such imminent action on OWCP benefits will often prompt the former federal or postal employee to make some inquiries, and such inquiries often result in the discovery that he or she was separated from the Federal Service some years prior.
Is it too late to apply for federal disability retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS? It all depends on the particular and unique facts and circumstances of each case. Whether a viable argument can be made in a particular case that an exemption from the “one-year rule” should be allowed depends on those unique facts and circumstances. Of course, it is the best alternative to avoid having to make such an argument and instead timely file federal disability retirement benefits within 1 year of being separated from Federal Service, or while you are still in the agency. To all federal and postal employees, a word of caution to the wise: stay on top of your own case; make sure and meet the deadlines; apply for your benefits under FERS & CSRS in a timely manner. However, if you believe that you were never informed of your federal separation from service, but you are entitled to federal disability retirement benefits, you should investigate. It may not be too late.
