J.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Bartow Post Office, Bartow, FL (Board decision, May 17, 2021)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed the appeal because the challenged correspondence was not a 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). FECA compensation decisions are generally not subject to court review under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(b).

Plain-English summary

J.C. appealed a January 17, 2020 letter from OWCP. The letter told her that OWCP had accepted her claim for a right hip sprain. The Board can review final adverse OWCP decisions, and the acceptance letter was not such a decision. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction without addressing any disputed benefit issue.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Board review requires a final adverse OWCP decision under 20 C.F.R. § 501.3(a).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable decision.
• Key point: A notice accepting a claim is not an adverse final decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
J.C., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 21-0714
) Issued: May 17, 2021
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, BARTOW POST
)
OFFICE, Bartow, FL, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Alan J. Shapiro, Esq., for the appellant1
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 April 9, 2021 appellant, through counsel, filed an appeal from a purported adverse January 17, 2020 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0714.

The Board has duly considered the matter and 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 decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed her appeal.3

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. § 8149; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a) (2009).
3
Id. at § 501.3(e), which 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.” The Board notes that the January 17, 2020 correspondence notified appellant that it had accepted her claim for unspecified sprain of the right hip, initial encounter. As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP dated January 17, 2020 over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 21-0714 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0714 is dismissed.

Issued: May 17, 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