What does the word disabled mean to you? How would you define a disabled employee?
My beloved Macintosh dictionary defines disabled in the following matter:
disabled |disˈābəld| adjective (of a person) having a physical or mental condition that limits movements, senses, or activities: facilities for disabled people | (as plural noun the disabled) : the needs of the disabled.• (of an activity, organization, or facility) specifically designed for or relating to people with such a physical or mental condition.
This seems like a simple enough definition. What if your supervisor, your
Equal Employment Opportunity (Office of Resolution Management), the Department
of Labor Office of Workers Compensation, the Social Security Administration,
the Office of Personnel Management and Private Insurance Companies all
used the same definition. To quote the golden throated Sam Cooke, “What
a wonderful world it would be.” Unfortunately, this is not the case.
So let’s deal with reality. Before you can determine whether you
are even potentially entitled or eligible for the benefits and protection
afforded by that a particular law, rule, regulation you must determined
if you meet the law, rule or regulations definition of a disabled employee.
After practicing for over 18 years in the federal sector my passion for
representing federal employees has led me to believe that it helps to
have an expert in the particular field in which you are seeking benefits.
Our firm employs, contracts with and works with Federal Employee experts
in the following fields: OPM Disability, OWCP FECA benefits for Workers
Compensation, Reasonable Accommodation, Disability Discrimination or Disparate
Treatment, Social Security Benefits.