Court Ruling Could Make It Easier for Federal Workers to Qualify for Disability Retirement

A federal appeals court ruling could make it easier for federal employees to qualify for disability retirement benefits.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with a former Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employee, ruling that disability retirement applications cannot be denied solely for lack of “objective” medical evidence.

The ruling applies in cases where federal employees have already been removed from their jobs due to a “medical inability to perform.” The ruling overturned a 2024 Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decision that upheld the denial of a disability retirement application from former OPM employee Tracey Garland.

Court Reasoning

In its decision, the court said that “subjective” medical evidence—including diagnoses based on self-reported symptoms—must be considered in disability retirement claims and cannot be excluded solely for lack of objective medical evidence.

Subjective evidence could be critical for employees who have psychological disabilities and where objective evidence is limited.

In the case of Garland, her disability retirement application was rejected by OPM after she was removed from her position as legal administrative specialist in 2016 due to a disability.

Garland had been diagnosed by a psychiatrist with major depression, anxiety, and insomnia, but OPM said that because there was no objective medical documentation, she was not entitled to disability retirement benefits.

In 2024, MSPB rejected Garland’s appeal and upheld OPM’s decision. She then appealed to the Federal Circuit, which led to the current ruling.