FBI worker cited seizures and no transit options – the panel still said no
A federal court has drawn a clear line for HR: trouble getting to work is not the same as being unable to do the job.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on May 27, 2026 that a former FBI clerical employee cannot claim federal disability retirement benefits on the basis that seizures left her unable to drive to her office. The decision sharpens a distinction that matters for any HR team handling disability claims: the law looks at whether an employee can perform the role, not whether the employee can reach the building.
Barbara Lee Chafin joined the FBI in November 1987 as a GS-03 Operational Support Technician in Miramar, Florida. The job involved clerical, assistant, or technician work, and required her to be on site. She drove in from her home in Goulds, Florida.
In December 2016, the agency found she had engaged in workplace misconduct. She was removed in July 2018.
In April 2019, Chafin applied for Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) disability retirement benefits, asking that they be backdated to February 2018. Her argument, supported by statements from her medical provider and supervisor, was that she had suffered numerous seizures. Those seizures meant she could not drive, public transportation did not serve her route, and ride-sharing was prohibitively expensive. Without a way to get to Miramar, she said, she could not work.
The Office of Personnel Management saw...
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