P.J. and Department of Commerce, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Publications Office (Board decision, December 11, 2023)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed the appeal because the case record contained no final adverse OWCP decision for it to review. The order does not decide the underlying benefit dispute. 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 Patent and Trademark Office employee tried to appeal a July 13, 2023 OWCP letter about why she received a schedule award instead of wage loss compensation for a period. The Board found that letter informational, not a final decision. A separate letter updating codes for accepted conditions was also informational. With no final adverse OWCP decision in the record, the Board dismissed the appeal without ruling on benefits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.3(a), Board review of final adverse OWCP decisions.
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
• Key point: An explanatory OWCP letter is not itself a final appealable decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
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P.J., Appellant
)
)
and
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Docket No. 23-1025
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, ) Issued: December 11, 2023
U.S. PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE,
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PATENT PUBLICATIONS OFFICE,
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Arlington, VA, Employer
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__________ )

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 July 26, 2023 appellant sought an appeal from a purported July 13, 2023 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 23-1025.

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 The case record as transmitted to the Board does not contain a final adverse decision of OWCP within the Board’s jurisdiction. 2 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP

1
5 U.S.C. § 8149; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
2
The case record contains a document dated July 13, 2023, but this is an informational letter wherein OWCP explained to appellant why she received schedule award compensation for a period, rather than wage-loss compensation, and it does not constitute a final decision of OWCP. The case record also contains a document dated May 23, 2023 wherein OWCP advised her that the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for her accepted conditions had been updated, but this also is an informational letter rather than a final decision of OWCP.

over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 23-1025 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 23-1025 is dismissed.

Issued: December 11, 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

2