G.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY (Board decision, January 28, 2021)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed G.B.’s appeal for lack of a final adverse OWCP decision within its review period. It did not decide the underlying overpayment question. 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. appealed what was described as a March 2017 OWCP overpayment decision. The Board found that the March 7 document was a preliminary determination, not a final adverse decision. The transmitted record contained no final adverse OWCP decision issued within the 180-day appeal window. The Board dismissed the appeal without reaching the overpayment question.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: ECAB jurisdiction over final adverse OWCP decisions under 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable final OWCP decision.
• Key point: A preliminary overpayment determination was not a final adverse decision the Board could review.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
G.B., Appellant
)
) Docket No. 21-0314
and ) Issued: January 28, 2021
)
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
Brooklyn, NY, 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 December 22, 2020 appellant filed an appeal from a purported March 7, 2017 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0314.

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.1 The case record as transmitted to the Board does not contain a final adverse decision of OWCP issued within 180 days from the date of docketing of the current appeal.2 The March 7, 2017 decision was a preliminary overpayment determination, not a final adverse decision. 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. 21-0314 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

1
5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
2
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.” IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0314 is dismissed.

Issued: January 28, 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