D.R. and Department of the Navy, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA (Board decision, March 23, 2023)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed this appeal because no final adverse OWCP decision was before it. The underlying compensation claim remains unresolved. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days of issuance unless the order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

D.R. appealed after an OWCP hearing representative vacated a prior decision and sent the claim back for further development. The Board found there was no final adverse OWCP decision for it to review while that development continued. It dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, leaving the underlying compensation claim unresolved.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.3(a).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a final adverse OWCP decision.
• Key point: An OWCP remand is not a final adverse decision subject to Board review.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
D.R., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 23-0095
) Issued: March 23, 2023
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, NAVAL
)
MEDICAL CENTER PORTSMOUTH,
)
Portsmouth, VA, Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge
JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On October 31, 2022 appellant sought an appeal from an October 26, 2022 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 23-0095.

The Board, having duly considered the matter, notes that its jurisdiction is limited to the review of final adverse OWCP decisions issued under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA).1 This jurisdiction encompasses any final decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed his appeal. 2 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. In the October 26, 2022 decision, OWCP’s hearing representative vacated OWCP’s July 21, 2022 decision and remanded the case to OWCP for further development of the factual and medical evidence, followed by a de novo decision. As such, this case is in an

1
5 U.S.C. § 8149; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
2
Id. at § 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.” interlocutory posture. 3 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the filing of this appeal, 4 over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0095 must be dismissed.5 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0095 is dismissed.

Issued: March 23, 2023
Washington, DC

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

Janice B. Askin, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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

3
See id. at § 501.2(c)(2), which provides: “There will be no appeal with respect t o an y in t erlo cut ory matt er decided (or not decided) by OWCP during the pendency of a case.”; see also L.F., Do ck et No . 2 1 -0 210 (issu ed April 27, 2022); M.B., Docket No. 21-0127 (issued November 12, 2021); T.D., Docket No . 1 9 -150 6 n .4 (issu ed November 4, 2020); K.K., Docket No. 19-0652 (issued September 19, 2019). 4 See supra note 2.
5
The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the d ate o f t h eir issu an ce. ” 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d).

2