A.D. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Aurora, CO (Board decision, December 18, 2020)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed appeal No. 20-1000 because the record contained no reviewable final adverse OWCP decision. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days of issuance unless this decision specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

A.D. appealed what her representative described as a denial of “two units of authorization.” The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision in the transmitted record within the period it could review. Without such a decision, it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal. It dismissed the case without deciding the alleged authorization issue.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: ECAB jurisdiction over final adverse OWCP decisions.
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable OWCP decision.
• Key point: The alleged authorization denial was not documented by a final adverse decision in the record.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
A.D., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 20-1000
) Issued: December 18, 2020
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY,
)
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
)
ADMINISTRATION, Aurora, CO, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Wendy, for the appellant1
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge
VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On April 2, 2020 appellant, through her representative, sought an appeal from a purported decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), which allegedly “denied two units of authorization.” The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 20-1000.

The Board, having duly considered the matter, notes that the Board has jurisdiction to review final adverse decisions of OWCP issued under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.2 The case record as transmitted to the Board does not contain a final adverse decision of OWCP

1
The representative’s last name was illegible on the AB-1. In all cases in which a representative has been authorized in a matter before the Board, no claim for a fee for legal or other service performed on appeal before the Board is valid unless approved by the Board. 20 C.F.R. § 501.9(e). No contract for a stipulated fee or on a contingent fee basis will be approved by the Board. Id. An attorney or representative’s collection of a fee without the Board’s approval may constitute a misdemeanor, subject to fine or imprisonment for up to one year or both. Id.; see also 18 U.S.C. § 292. Demands for payment of fees to a representative, prior to approval by the Board, may be reported to appropriate authorities for investigation. 2 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a). issued within 180 days from the date of docketing of the current appeal.3 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 20-1000 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 20-1000 is dismissed.

Issued: December 18, 2020
Washington, DC

Janice B. Askin, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Alternate Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

3
20 C.F.R. § 501.3(e) provides in pertinent part: “Any notice of appeal must be filed within 180 days from the date of issuance of a decision of the OWCP.”

2