D.B. and Department of Veterans Affairs, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital (Board decision, December 21, 2023)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because it was filed after the 180-day deadline. The order does not decide the underlying compensation claim. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), Board decisions and orders become final after 30 days. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days unless the order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

A Veterans Affairs hospital employee appealed a December 12, 2022 OWCP merits decision on December 8, 2023. The 180-day deadline to appeal was June 10, 2023. The Board found the appeal untimely and said the employee had not documented compelling circumstances for the delay. It dismissed the appeal without reviewing the merits of the compensation claim.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. § 501.3(e), the 180-day Board appeal deadline.
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: The Board lacked jurisdiction because the appeal was filed after the deadline.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
D.B., Appellant
)
) Docket No. 24-0172
and ) Issued: December 21, 2023
)
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS,
)
JAMES A. HALEY VETERANS’ HOSPITAL,
)
Tampa, FL, Employer
)
__________ )

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

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge
VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On December 8, 2023 appellant filed an appeal from a December 12, 2022 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 24-0172.

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.1 For final adverse decisions of OWCP issued on or after November 19, 2008, the Board’s review authority is limited to appeals which are filed within 180 days from the date of issuance of OWCP’s decision. 2

The 180 th day following the December 12, 2022 decision was June 10, 2023. As appellant did not file an appeal with the Board until December 8, 2023, more than 180 days after the December 12, 2022, OWCP decision, the Board finds that the appeal docketed as No.

1
5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
2
20 C.F.R. § 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.”

24-0172 is untimely filed. The Board is without jurisdiction to review the appeal. Appellant has not explained her failure to timely file an appeal with supporting documentation sufficient to establish compelling circumstances. Because there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the filing of the instant appeal, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 24-0172, must be dismissed. 3 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 24-0172 is dismissed.

Issued: December 21, 2023
Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, 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

3
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