T.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Muskegon, MI (Board decision, September 28, 2015)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP’s June 6 and 25, 2013 schedule award decisions and remanded for reconstruction of the missing case record and a new decision. The proper award remains unresolved. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), this Board order becomes final 30 days after issuance. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days of issuance unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

T.S. appealed OWCP decisions concerning a schedule award. The record sent to the Board lacked the claim form, accepted facts, impairment evaluation, medical adviser review, and related claim files needed to assess the award. OWCP did not complete the record after the Board ordered it to do so. The Board set aside both decisions and returned the case for reconstruction of the record and a new decision. The official listing labels this docket 14-0172, while the PDF prints 14-172.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.
• Outcome: Schedule award decisions set aside and remanded.
• Key point: The Board could not review the award without the underlying claim and medical records.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
T.S., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 14-172
) Issued: September 28, 2015
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
Muskegon, MI, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Appellant, pro se
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:
PATRICIA HOWARD FITZGERALD, Acting Chief Judge COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Alternate Judge

On October 30, 2013 appellant filed a timely application for review of the June 6 and June 25, 2013 decisions of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) concerning his schedule award claim. Pursuant to the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act1 (FECA) and 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3, the Board has jurisdiction over the merits of this case.

On April 28, 2014 the Board issued an order to complete record within 30 days.2 Upon inspection of the case record, however, the Board finds that the Director of OWCP has not produced the complete case record or shown cause for not complying. As the Board is unable to render a fully informed adjudication of the case, it will remand the case to OWCP, as set forth in the April 28, 2014 order, for reconstruction and proper assemblage of the case record, to be followed by the issuance of an appropriate final decision to protect appellant’s appeal rights.

1
5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.
2
As transmitted, the case record did not include: appellant’s Form CA-7 dated July 31, 2003; a statement of accepted facts; the September 27, 2011 permanent impairment evaluation by Dr. John W. Ellis; OWCP’s medical adviser’s April 5, 2013 review of Dr. Ellis’ rating; and any other claim (File Nos. xxxxxx096 and xxxxxx784) that might explain the clinical findings or diagnoses on which appellant’s previous schedule awards were based. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the June 25 and 6, 2013 decisions of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs are set aside and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: September 28, 2015
Washington, DC

Patricia Howard Fitzgerald, Acting Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Alec J. Koromilas, Alternate Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

2