SF 3112B Supervisor Statement: What It Covers and How It Affects Your FERS Disability Claim

What the SF 3112B Requires From Your Supervisor

The SF 3112B is the supervisor's portion of the SF 3112 disability retirement package. Your immediate supervisor completes this form to describe your job performance, attendance record, and any accommodations the agency attempted. OPM uses it alongside your physician's statement (SF 3112C) and your personal narrative (SF 3112A) to determine whether your medical condition actually prevents "useful and efficient service" in your position.

Unlike the SF 3112A, which you control, the SF 3112B is filled out by someone else — and what they write can either strengthen or undermine your entire claim.

What the Supervisor Documents

The SF 3112B asks the supervisor to address several specific areas:

Performance history. The supervisor describes whether your work product has declined and, if so, when the decline began. OPM is looking for a pattern that correlates with your medical condition's onset or worsening. A supervisor who reports consistently satisfactory performance makes it harder for OPM to conclude that your condition prevents you from doing the job.

Attendance and leave usage. Sick leave patterns, LWOP episodes, and any periods of extended absence are documented here. Heavy sick leave usage that aligns with your diagnosis supports the claim. Random or unexplained absences without medical documentation weaken it.

Conduct issues. If your condition has affected your workplace behavior — tardiness, difficulty concentrating during meetings, conflicts triggered by pain or medication side effects — the supervisor records these observations. OPM uses conduct problems as supporting evidence of functional impairment, provided they are linked to the medical condition.

Accommodation attempts. The supervisor describes what modifications the agency tried: adjusted schedules, telework, ergonomic equipment, modified duties. This section needs to match what your HR office reports on SF 3112D. Contradictions between the supervisor's account and the agency's certification are a red flag for OPM reviewers.

The Uncooperative Supervisor Problem

The most common complication with the SF 3112B is a supervisor who either delays completing the form or provides vague, unhelpful responses. Some supervisors are reluctant to document performance problems because it reflects on their management. Others worry about potential EEO complaints if they describe an employee's limitations too bluntly.

You cannot dictate what your supervisor writes, but you can take steps to ensure the form is completed accurately and on time:

• Provide your position description and medical timeline. Give your supervisor a copy of your official PD and a summary of when your condition began affecting your work. This gives them concrete reference points instead of asking them to work from memory.
• Remind them of specific incidents. If you called in sick frequently during a particular quarter, or if your supervisor counseled you about declining work quality, reference those events. Performance reviews, counseling memos, and leave records help the supervisor write a factual, detailed statement.
• Follow up in writing. If your supervisor is slow to complete the form, send dated emails requesting a timeline. If your agency separates you before the SF 3112B is complete, you lose the administrative leverage of being an active employee — and the one-year filing clock starts running.

When the Supervisor's Statement Conflicts With Your Narrative

OPM reads the SF 3112A (your statement), SF 3112B (supervisor's statement), and SF 3112C (physician's statement) together. They are checking for consistency — does your description of your limitations match what your supervisor observes at work, and does both of that match what your doctor reports clinically?

A supervisor who writes that your performance was "satisfactory" while you describe an inability to function creates a gap OPM will question. Similarly, if your physician says you cannot sit for more than 30 minutes but your supervisor reports no attendance issues with your sedentary desk job, OPM sees a contradiction.

Before the SF 3112B is submitted, review your own SF 3112A and your physician's SF 3112C to confirm that all three documents tell a coherent story. You are not fabricating anything — the goal is to ensure that the documented facts in each form align with reality.

The SF 3112D and SF 3112E: Completing the Agency Picture

Two other agency-side forms round out the package. The SF 3112D (Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts) documents the results of the mandatory vacancy search and confirms whether accommodation was attempted. Your HR office completes this form, and it should be consistent with what your supervisor reported on the SF 3112B about accommodation attempts.

The SF 3112E (Disability Retirement Application Checklist) is an internal checklist that the agency's HR specialist uses to verify the package is complete before submitting it to OPM. It confirms that all required forms, medical records, and the proof of SSDI filing are included.

Neither of these forms is particularly complex, but missing or contradictory entries on either one will trigger an OPM information request — and every request adds weeks or months to your processing time.

The FERS Disability Retirement Guide includes a Document Assembly Tracker that maps each form to the evidence it requires, helping you confirm the entire SF 3112 package is consistent before it reaches OPM.

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