C.M. and U.S. Postal Service, Ames Post Office, Omaha, NE (Board decision, July 18, 2023)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed this appeal because the cited October 27, 2020 decision was a Board decision, not a final adverse OWCP decision within its jurisdiction. 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

A postal worker attempted to appeal an October 27, 2020 decision. The Board identified that decision as its own earlier ruling, which had affirmed an OWCP decision from January 2019. The Board can hear an appeal from a final adverse OWCP decision issued within 180 days of the appeal, but the worker had identified no such decision. It dismissed the new appeal without revisiting the compensation claim.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.3(a) and (e), jurisdiction over final adverse OWCP decisions and the appeal period.
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable OWCP decision.
• Key point: An earlier Board decision cannot itself serve as the OWCP decision required for a new Board appeal.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
C.M., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 21-0177
)
Issued: July 18, 2023
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, AMES POST OFFICE, )
Omaha, NE, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Stephanie N. Leet, Esq., for the appellant1
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge
JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge
JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On November 23, 2020 appellant, through counsel, sought an appeal of a purported October 27, 2020 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0177.

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 This jurisdiction encompasses any final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed her appeal. 3 The October 27, 2020 decision was a Board decision assigned

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. §§ 10.5102.2(c) and 501.3(a).
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.”
Docket No. 19-1610, which affirmed a January 25, 2019 OWCP decision. 4 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP over which the Board may properly exercise jurisd iction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as 21-0177 must be dismissed.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0177 is dismissed.

Issued: July 18, 2023
Washington, DC

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

Janice B. Askin, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

James D. McGinley, Alternate Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

4
Docket No. 19-1610 (issued October 27, 2020), petition for reconsideration denied, Docket No. 19-1610 (issued March 3, 2022).

2