G.B. and Department of the Army, Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Sill, OK (Board decision, April 5, 2021)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed the duplicate appeal assigned No. 20-1534. The earlier appeal from the same OWCP decision had already been dismissed as untimely; this order did not review the underlying claim. 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

G.B. filed two appeals from the same June 17, 2019 OWCP decision. The Board had already dismissed the first docket, No. 20-0783, as untimely. The Clerk had inadvertently opened a second docket for the same decision. The Board dismissed that duplicate docket without reviewing the underlying claim.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Duplicate appeal docket procedure.
• Outcome: Duplicate appeal dismissed; underlying OWCP decision not reviewed here.
• Key point: A second docket did not create a new appeal from the same OWCP decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
G.B., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 20-1534
) Issued: April 5, 2021
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEFENSE
)
COMMISSARY AGENCY, Fort Sill, OK,
)
Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge
VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On February 26, 2020 appellant filed a timely appeal from a June 17, 2019 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 20-0783.

On June 15, 2020 appellant filed a second appeal from the same June 17, 2019 OWCP decision.1 The Clerk of the Appellate Boards inadvertently assigned Docket No. 20-1534.

The Board has duly considered the matter and concludes that, since there are now two docket numbers assigned for a review of the same OWCP decision, one of the docket numbers must be dismissed. The Board issued an order on March 26, 2021, dismissing the appeal in 20-0783, finding that the February 26, 2020 appeal of the June 17, 2019 decision was untimely and the Board was, therefore, without jurisdiction to review the appeal.2 Since the Clerk of the

1
Appellant on his appeal request form (Form AB-1) referred generally to OWCP decisions issued in his claim from 1980 through 2018. The most recent OWCP decision of record is the June 17, 2019 nonmerit decision. 2 Order Dismissing Appeal, Docket No. 20-0783 (issued March 26, 2021) Appellate Boards inadvertently assigned Docket No. 20-1534 to appellant’s second appeal request, this docket number shall be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 20-1534 is dismissed.

Issued: April 5, 2021
Washington, DC

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

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

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

2