G.C. and Department of the Air Force, Space & Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, CA (Board decision, February 12, 2016)

ECAB final decision. This order directs reissue of the Board’s January 7, 2015 decision because the Clerk mailed it to an incorrect address. The reissued decision was issued separately on February 12, 2016. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), a Board decision becomes final 30 days after issuance. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days unless the decision specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

The Board had affirmed two OWCP decisions in G.C.’s case in January 2015, but its Clerk sent the decision to the wrong address. The Board held that the decision had therefore not been properly issued under its mailing rule. This order directs a new issuance effective February 12, 2016. The separately released reissued decision contains the rulings on the schedule award and hearing request.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(f), mailing decisions; § 501.6(d), finality after issuance.
• Outcome: January 7, 2015 Board decision ordered reissued effective February 12, 2016.
• Key point: Mailing to an incorrect address prevented proper issuance of the earlier decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
G.C., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 14-1247
) Issued: February 12, 2016
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, SPACE
)
& MISSILE SYSTEMS CENTER, LOS
)
ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, El Segundo, CA,
)
Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER

Before:
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge
JAMES A. HAYNES, Alternate Judge

On January 7, 2015 the Board issued a decision in the above-entitled matter, which affirmed the November 14, 2013 and April 17, 2014 decisions of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). However, the Clerk of the Board inadvertently mailed the January 7, 2015 decision to an incorrect address.

Pursuant to 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(f), the Board “will send its decisions and orders to the [a]ppellant … at the time of issuance.“ In Bertha Keeble, the Board noted that a decision is issued when it is filed and mailed, and it is presumed that this was accomplished on the issued date appearing on the decision.1 In Keeble, the decision was mailed to an incorrect address, and therefore, the Board found that it had not properly issued the decision. Consequently, the Board ordered that the decision be correctly issued. In the current case, the Board mailed its January 7, 2015 decision to an incorrect address, and thus, the decision was not issued in accordance with 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(f). As such, the decision in the above-entitled case shall be reissued effective this date.

1
45 ECAB 355, 356 (1994) (citing Ralph W. Moody, 44 ECAB 375 (1993)).
 The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of issuance....“2

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the Board’s January 7, 2015 decision is reissued.3

Issued: February 12, 2016
Washington, DC

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

2
20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d) (2014).
3
James A. Haynes, Alternate Judge, participated in the original decision but was no longer a member of the Board effective November 16, 2015 and did not participate in the preparation of this order.

2