W.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Waldorf, MD (Board decision, June 20, 2016)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP’s January 20, 2015 termination decision and remanded for reconstruction of the record and a new decision. The underlying benefits question remains open. 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). FECA compensation decisions are generally not subject to court review under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(b).

Plain-English summary

W.M. appealed a decision ending medical and wage-loss compensation. The copy OWCP sent to the Board omitted pages of the final termination notice, leaving the Board unable to review the decision properly. The Board set it aside and directed OWCP to assemble a complete record and issue a new decision.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.4(b)(1).
• Outcome: Termination decision set aside; record reconstruction and new decision required.
• Key point: The Board could not review an incomplete copy of the termination decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
W.M., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 15-1068
) Issued: June 20, 2016
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
Waldorf, MD, 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 April 13, 2015 appellant filed a timely application for review of the January 20, 2015 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) in OWCP file number xxxxxx897 and requested oral argument. In the January 20, 2015 decision, OWCP terminated appellant’s medical and wage-loss compensation effective January 20, 2014. The Board docketed this appeal as No. 15-1068.

The Board has duly considered the matter and notes that the Director has not transmitted a complete copy of the January 20, 2015 decision by OWCP. Pursuant to the Board’s regulations, OWCP shall provide to the Board the case record.1 The copy of the decision currently before the Board does not include all pages from the Notice of Final Termination. Therefore, the decision is incomplete, and the Board is not able to provide a proper review. The Board, therefore, finds that the appeal docketed as No. 15-1068 is not currently in posture for a decision.

Accordingly, the case is remanded to OWCP for reconstruction and proper assemblage of the record to include a complete copy of the January 20, 2015 decision. On remand, OWCP shall issue a de novo decision in order to protect appellant’s appeal rights.

1
20 C.F.R. § 501.4(b)(1).
 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs dated January 20, 2015 is set aside, and the case is remanded to the OWCP for further action consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: June 20, 2016
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