S.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, New Orleans, LA (Board decision, March 20, 2023)

ECAB final decision dismissing appeal. The Board dismissed this appeal for lack of jurisdiction because it did not identify a final adverse OWCP decision issued within the applicable 180-day period. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), this order becomes final 30 days after issuance. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

A postal worker appealed what she described as an October 26, 2022 OWCP decision. The Board found that the October document was its own order in a different appeal, and that the most recent OWCP decision was dated January 19, 2022. Because no final adverse OWCP decision fell within 180 days of this appeal, the Board dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction. It said a separate petition to reconsider the earlier Board order would be addressed separately.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.3(e), 501.6(d), 501.7(a).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed without a compensation merits ruling.
• Key point: A prior Board order was not a new OWCP decision eligible for another Board appeal.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
S.C., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 23-0094
) Issued: March 20, 2023
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,
)
New Orleans, LA, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Anita Lewallen, for the appellant1
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On October 31, 2022 appellant, through her representative, filed an appeal from a purported October 26, 2022 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 23-0094.

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 (FECA).2 This jurisdiction encompasses any final decision issued by OWCP within 1 80 days of the date appellant filed his appeal. 3 The case record contains an October 26, 2022 Board order

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.; id. at §§ 50l.2(c) and 50l.3(a).
3
Id. at § 50l.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.”

dismissing appeal issued in Docket No. 23-0016, finding that the appeal was untimely filed. 4 However, as of the filing of the current appeal, the most recent OWCP decision was dated January 19, 2022.5 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the filing of this appeal, 6 over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0094 must be dismissed.7 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0094 is dismissed.8

Issued: March 20, 2023
Washington, DC

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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

4
The Board’s decisions and orders are final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance. Id. at § 501.6(d).
5
Order Dismissing Appeal, Docket No. 23-0016 (issued October 26, 2022).
6
Supra note 3.
7
The Board notes that appellant, through her representative, filed a timely petition for reconsideration from the Board’s October 26, 2022, order in Docket No. 23-0016. See 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a). The Board will address that petition for reconsideration by separate order. 8 The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance.” Id. at § 501.6(d).

2