S.O. and U.S. Postal Service, Honolulu Post Office, Honolulu, HI (Board decision, October 17, 2022)

ECAB remand decision. The Board set aside OWCP's February 14, 2022 denial of continuation of pay and directed it to apply its COVID-19 guidance before issuing a new decision. Entitlement to continuation of pay remains unresolved. 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 Honolulu mail handler sought continuation of pay for time away from work after a positive COVID-19 test. OWCP denied the request because he filed his injury claim more than 30 days after the date it used for the injury. The Board found that OWCP had not applied its COVID-19 guidance, which uses the last exposure before medical evidence of diagnosis as the injury date when transmission time is uncertain. It set aside the denial and directed OWCP to apply that guidance and issue a new decision. The Board did not decide whether the worker qualified for continuation of pay.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: FECA continuation-of-pay requirements and FECA Bulletin No. 21-09.
• Outcome: Continuation-of-pay denial set aside; claim remanded for a new decision.
• Key point: OWCP had to apply its COVID-19 date-of-injury guidance before deciding whether the filing was timely.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
S.O., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 22-0760
) Issued: October 17, 2022
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, HONOLULU POST
)
OFFICE, Honolulu, HI, Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER REMANDING CASE

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

On April 6, 2022 appellant filed a timely appeal from a February 14, 2022 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).

On February 8, 2022 appellant, then a 56-year-old mail handler assistant, filed a traumatic injury claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on December 20, 2021 he contracted COVID-19 while in the performance of duty. He related that he took a COVID-19 home test on December 19, 2021 and tested positive, and he confirmed the positive test result with a Diagnostic Lab Services test on December 20, 2021. Appellant explained that he lost 64 hours of pay due to the mandatory 10- day quarantine. He indicated on his claim form that he was claiming COP. On the reverse side of the claim form, appellant’s supervisor acknowledged that appellant was injured in the performance of duty. The supervisor noted that appellant’s last day worked was December 18, 2021, and controverted continuation of pay, noting that the claim had been filed more than 30 days following the date of injury.

In support of his claim, appellant submitted a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result dated December 20, 2021, demonstrating a positive COVID-19 test result.

By decision dated February 14, 2022, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for COP, finding that he had not reported his injury on an OWCP-approved form within 30 days of his alleged December 18, 2021 employment injury. The Board, having duly considered this matter, finds that this case is not in posture for decision.

Section 8118(a) of FECA authorizes COP, not to exceed 45 days, to an employee who has filed a claim for a period of wage loss due to a traumatic injury with his or her immediate superior on a form approved by the Secretary of Labor within the time specified in section 8122(a)(2) of this title.1 This latter section provides that written notice of injury shall be given within 30 days. 2 The context of section 8122 makes clear that this means within 30 days of the injury. 3

OWCP’s regulations provide, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for COP, an employee must: (1) have a traumatic injury which is job related and the cause of the disability and/or the cause of lost time due to the need for medical examination and treatment; (2) file Form CA-1 within 30 days of the date of the injury; and (3) begin losing time from work due to the traumatic injury within 45 days of the injury. 4

FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 at subsection II.2., however, provides that, “The FECA program considers COVID-19 to be a traumatic injury since it is contracted during a single workday or shift (see 20 C.F.R. § 10.5(ee)), and considers the date of last exposure prior to the medical evidence establishing the COVID-19 diagnosis as the Date of Injury since the precise time of transmission may not always be known due to the nature of the virus.”5

In denying appellant’s claim for COP, OWCP failed to consider the date of last exposure as the date of injury in accordance with the guidance in FECA Bulletin No. 21-09. This case will therefore be remanded for application of FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 with regard to appellant’s claim for COP.6 Following this and other such further development as deemed necessary, OWCP shall issue a de novo decision. Accordingly,

1
Id. at § 8118(a).
2
Id. at § 8122(a)(2).
3
E.M., Docket No. 20-0837 (issued January 27, 2021); J.S., Docket No. 18-1086 (issued January 17, 2019); Robert M. Kimzey, 40 ECAB 762-64 (1989); Myra Lenburg, 36 ECAB 487, 489 (1985). 4 20 C.F.R. § 10.205(a)(1-3); see also T.S., Docket No. 19-1228 (issued December 9, 2019); J.M., Docket No. 09- 1563 (issued February 26, 2010); Dodge Osborne, 44 ECAB 849 (1993).; William E. Ostertag, 33 ECAB 1925(1982). 5 FECA Bulletin No. 21-09.II.2 (issued April 29, 2021). On March 11, 2021 the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law. Pub. L. No. 117–2. OWCP issued FECA Bulletin 21-09 to provide guidance regarding the processing of COVID-19 FECA claims as set forth in the ARPA. Previously, COVID-19 claims under FECA were processed under the guidelines provided by FECA Bulletin No. 20-05 (released March 31, 2020) and FECA Bulletin No. 21-01 (released October 21, 2020). FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 supersedes FECA Bulletin Nos. 20-05 and 21-01. 6 See e.g., Order Remanding Case, W.G., Docket No. 18-0451 (issued February 21, 2019) (The Board found that OWCP failed to properly develop the medical evidence by requesting the DMA to provide an impairment rating in accordance with the new guidance in FECA Bulletin No. 17-06 for consistently rating upper extremity impairments. The Board remanded the case for further development consistent with OWCP procedures in FECA Bulletin No. 17 - 06); Order Remanding Case, H.W., Docket No. 10-404 (issued September 28, 2011) (The Board remanded the case to OWCP for selection of another impartial medical specialist in accordance with its procedures).

2
 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the February 14, 2022 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this order of the Board.

Issued: October 17, 2022
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

3