F.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Parkridge, IL (Board decision, September 15, 2015)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP’s January 12, 2015 refusal to reconsider F.L.’s schedule award and returned the case for reconstruction of the record and a new decision. The reconsideration request 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 unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

F.L. asked OWCP to reconsider an October 1, 2014 schedule award decision. The record sent to the Board lacked that complete decision and included a September 30 decision belonging to another claimant. The Board found it could not review the reconsideration denial on an incomplete record. It set aside OWCP’s January 12, 2015 decision and directed OWCP to reconstruct the file and decide the request again.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Reconsideration under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(a).
• Outcome: Reconsideration denial set aside; case remanded for record reconstruction and a new decision.
• Key point: The Board could not adjudicate the appeal without the underlying schedule award decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

_______
)
F.L., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 15-0792
)
Issued: September 15, 2015
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, )
Parkridge, IL, Employer
)
_______ )

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

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:
CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge

On February 23, 2015 appellant filed an application for review of a January 12, 2015 nonmerit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) which denied his request for reconsideration. The Board docketed the appeal as No. 15-792.

The Board, having reviewed the case record submitted by OWCP, notes that the record is incomplete. In this case, on October 11, 2014 appellant requested reconsideration of an October 1, 2014 OWCP schedule award decision. In its January 12, 2015 decision, OWCP denied his request for reconsideration of a September 30, 2014 OWCP decision. The Board notes that the record contains a schedule award decision dated September 30, 2014 which pertains to another claimant. The record does not contain a complete October 1, 2014 OWCP decision from which appellant requested reconsideration.1

As the record before the Board is incomplete and would not permit an informed adjudication of the case by the Board, the Board concludes that the case is not in posture for a

1
The record does contain a September 30, 2014 payment worksheet for a schedule award indicating that OWCP was to issue appellant a schedule award for two percent impairment of the right leg. The record also contains the appeal request form from an October 1, 2014 decision on which appellant requested reconsideration. No other part of an October 1, 2014 decision is in the record before the Board. decision and must be remanded to OWCP for reconstruction and proper assemblage of the case record, to be followed by an appropriate decision on appellant’s request for reconsideration.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the January 12, 2015 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside. The case recorded is remanded to OWCP for further proceedings consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: September 15, 2015
Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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

Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

2