D.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Pekin Post Office, Pekin, IL (Board decision, July 30, 2021)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed D.C.'s appeal because the OWCP notice at issue was advisory and was not a final adverse decision. The proposed wage-earning capacity change was not reviewed. 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

D.C. appealed after OWCP sent a notice proposing to modify a wage-earning capacity determination. The notice offered time to submit evidence before OWCP made a final decision. The Board held that an advisory proposal was not a final adverse OWCP decision over which it had jurisdiction. It dismissed the appeal without deciding whether the proposed compensation change was correct.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: ECAB jurisdiction over final OWCP decisions.
• Outcome: Appeal docket 21-0469 dismissed.
• Key point: A proposed decision cannot be appealed to the Board before OWCP makes it final.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
D.C., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 21-0469
) Issued: July 30, 2021
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, PEKIN POST
)
OFFICE, Pekin, IL, 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 4, 2021 appellant filed an appeal from a December 16, 2020 notice of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0469.

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 In the December 16, 2020 notice, OWCP advised appellant that it proposed to modify an August 28, 1997 loss of wage- earning capacity (LWEC) determination. It afforded him 30 days to submit additional evidence if she disagreed with the proposed LWEC modification. As this notice was merely advisory in nature, it does not constitute a final adverse decision issued by OWCP over which the Board may

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.” properly exercise jurisdiction.3 Therefore, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 21-0469 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0469 is dismissed.

Issued: July 30, 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

3
Id. at §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).

2