TDIU after resigning?

[Irving]

Can anyone speak generally, or from experience, on how TDIU claims are affected when the applicant resigned from their last job?

I am 70% SC for PTSD. While I am currently working now, my condition makes it impossible, and management understandably wants to fire me for cause. They cannot do it before the strong union "protecting" me drags things out for months on end. I don't want to go through any of that. If I just resign and leave the job am I sabotaging the TDIU claim I intend to file?

 Any insight or advice is appreciated.

[GBArmy]

Irving Welcome to Hadit. I don't have any personal experience with your issue, but I assume you have ongoing medical sessions with your psych docs. If it is within the VA system, that would make it easy. Contact them and say you'd like to have a update consulting session with them to discuss a problem that is causing you major difficulties. Discuss what the situation is and your wish not to push your anxiety levels thru the roof by going thru the process with the union. Be sure that they post the consult and to review it to make sure it was accurately discussed and reported. You therefore have created medical records that can be used when discussing the TDIU claim. If your doc is an outside source, do as described and then down load to myhealthevet. It is new evidence of your ability to have gainful employment attempt, but not possible to sustain. Very important: get buddy letters from people you work with and if possible, from your boss. Tell them it is ok to write negative stuff about you inability to take supervision and work with others.

[Irving]

2 hours ago, GBArmy said:

Irving Welcome to Hadit. I don't have any personal experience with your issue, but I assume you have ongoing medical sessions with your psych docs. If it is within the VA system, that would make it easy. Contact them and say you'd like to have a update consulting session with them to discuss a problem that is causing you major difficulties. Discuss what the situation is and your wish not to push your anxiety levels thru the roof by going thru the process with the union. Be sure that they post the consult and to review it to make sure it was accurately discussed and reported. You therefore have created medical records that can be used when discussing the TDIU claim. If your doc is an outside source, do as described and then down load to myhealthevet. It is new evidence of your ability to have gainful employment attempt, but not possible to sustain. Very important: get buddy letters from people you work with and if possible, from your boss. Tell them it is ok to write negative stuff about you inability to take supervision and work with others.

Thanks for the reply and good info. I have been seeing a VA psych doc for years and am an established patient in the MH clinic. Is it important to get a brand new consult? I feel like they'll give me a hard time about that because I am established and have my next appt on the books already (in mid April). I've been relaying my issues with work in past appts so they should be well documented. I've never pulled any of his notes to verify that though.

I can get a couple good support statements from coworkers, but my boss is not going to help me out in that regard, unfortunately.

[pacmanx1]

Make sure you get a copy of your resignation letter or your termination letter stating that you are resigning or being fired due to your medical or mental health condition or whatever the condition is. Don't just quit and walk out of the door. Your boss may not want to help but if you were counseled about your behavior make sure you get a copy of those records. If your job gave you some type of special accommodation for your condition, make sure you get a copy of those records. Keep in mind that when you file for TDIU, it will take the VA some time to process your claim. You can also file for SSDI.  Don't do anything criminal or illegal. Just CYB (Cover Your Backside).

[broncovet]

The criteria makes no mention that you have to be fired.  ONE reason:

Companies dont like to fire people.  They get sued too much.  Or, even when they "do" fire an employee, they keep the reason you left "under wraps"  (that is, they dont disclose the reasons you no longer work there) because, again, they dont want to be sued.  

If you did get fired, then could not get hired because of that firing, that company could be held liable for demonstrating the reasons you were fired are valid.  

Bottom line:  Go ahead and apply for TDIU.  This is not a deal breaker.  Its "quite ok" for you to resign, for example, because your doctor says you can no longer meet the job requirements.  

My advice?  Dont bring up "your reasons you no longer worked there" UNLESS your employer brings it up.  

I looked on the 8940, and "did not see a reason (required) that you did not continue working".  Look for yourself:

https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/vba-21-8940-are.pdf

Dont lie to VA, but dont volunteer information which is not required.  Let the VA decide their own criteria, and then fill out the form honestly.  

    Since I did not see it on the form, dont volunteer unnecessary information.  

NOW, on to the REAL criteria:

1.  your doctor needs to state you are "unable to work" due to SC conditions. 

2.  You might need a voc rehab assessment to demonstrate you "are not a good candidate" for retraining in another field and the reasons why.   

VA's reasoning here is that your doc is not a job counselor, and is not competent to opine if you could do some other job.  Example:  You work in a warehouse, stacking boxes.  Your doc says you are unable to maintain that job due to a back injury.  VA says, well, he could do another job, such as a computer programmer, which does not require you to lift boxes.  But, being retrained as a computer programmer is a decision made by you and your voc rehab counselor after a voc rehab assessment.  

Stick to the criteria.  Answer the questions VA asks, dont answer questions they dont ask.  Let them do their job, dont try to interpret regulations for them.  

Read the criteria and regulations, dont assume you cant get tdiu because "YOU" knew when you could not do the job before your employer knew it.  

   As one example, Ohio has an "at employers will" law.  Your employer can fire you in Ohio, and not give you reasons.  He can just say I dont want you to work here anymore.  Maybe he has no work for you.  Maybe you get paid too much and he can hire someone else cheaper.  Maybe you dont get along with his daughter.  Maybe he is afraid you could go on drugs.   He does not have to tell you his reasons.  And I get that.  

     Maybe you and the boss didnt see eye to eye.  When the NFL "cuts" a player, they make a decision based on performance, salary cap, their needs.  That NFL player may or may not meet another teams needs.  

    As Pacman suggested, there is "nothing wrong" with YOU giving reasons for your termination, (in your resignation letter)  such as

"Im no longer able to do this job".  It happens every day.  Or, my doctor said I m no longer able to do this job, if that is the case.  

Edited March 29, 2021 by broncovet

[kanewnut]

I have first hand experience with quitting and applying for TDIU. The VA has said for years that I quit and used that as a reason to deny TDIU. As you can see from the below section from the VA's M21-1 manual that is total BS. But it still doesn't stop them from doing it, even when pointing it out multiple times to them. I should also state that I quit many months before I was even eligible for TDIU.  

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate, absolutely hate, dealing with the VA, for absolutely anything.

 A search for m21-1 tdiu retured this. I then searched for voluntary.

M21-1, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section F - Compensation Based on Individual Unemployability (IU 

IV.ii.2.F.4.c.  Factors Not Affecting IU Determinations
 

Determine whether the severity of the SC disabilities precludes the Veteran from securing or following substantially gainful employment. 
 
The following factors have no bearing on a determination of whether an SC disability renders a Veteran unemployable:
age
NSC disabilities
injuries occurring after military service
availability of work, or
voluntary withdrawal from the labor market.
References:  For more information on

the information to include in the rating decision, see M21-1, Part IV, Subpart ii, 2.F.4.p, and
limitation of ability in IU determinations, see M21-1, Part IV, Subpart ii, 2.F.1.i.

[john999]

Do you have the option of retiring on a disability pension.  I did that with the post office when they fired me. I hired a lawyer and we got them to allow me to just retire on disability.  Hey on the way out the door I filed for workman's compensation.  6 month later I got the worker's compensation and that really burned them up.  They threw me into the briar patch.  Don't just resign. Make the fire you or allow you to retire on disability.  You probably ought to look into filing for worker's compensation if your job has aggravated your PTSD.  I lived on WC until I got TDIU.  It took two years to get TDIU since the VA used all sorts of jive to keep denying my claims. I had excellent medical evidence but the VA still gave me a hard time.  Just get the money from where every you can and don't make it easy for those bastards.