T.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Columbus Post Office (Board decision, April 26, 2024)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed the appeal because the challenged OWCP correspondence was informational and no final adverse decision was before it. 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). FECA compensation decisions are generally not subject to court review under 5 U.S.C. § 8128(b).

Plain-English summary

A postal employee sought to appeal an OWCP letter about how to request modification of an earlier earning capacity determination. The November 2023 letter supplied information about the process but did not decide his claim. With no final adverse OWCP decision to review, the Board dismissed the appeal.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Board jurisdiction over final adverse decisions under 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3.
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a final adverse OWCP decision.
• Key point: An informational letter explaining the appeal process is not itself an appealable decision.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
T.G., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 24-0245
)
Issued: April 26, 2024
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, COLUMBUS POST )
OFFICE, Columbus, IN, 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 January 10, 2024 appellant sought an appeal from a purported November 3, 2023 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 24-0245.

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. 1 This jurisdiction encompasses any final decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed the appeal. 2 The case record as transmitted to the Board does not contain a final adverse decision of OWCP within the Board’s jurisdiction. Although the record contains correspondence dated November 3, 2023 regarding the appeals process to modify his August 13, 2018 loss of wage-earning capacity determination, it is purely informational in nature and, thus, does not constitute a final adverse decision of OWCP from which appellant may properly appeal.3

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 OWCP.”
3
See Order Dismissing Appeal, J.G., Docket No. 22-0657 (issued April 19, 2023); Order Dismissing Appeal, K.S., Docket No. 20-1401 (issued March 17, 2021); Order Dismissing Appeal, S.U., Docket No. 20-0636 (issued December 3, 2020) (correspondence that is purely informational in nature does not constitute a final adverse decision of OWCP from which appellant may properly appeal). As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 24-0245 must be dismissed. 4 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as Docket No. 24-0245 is dismissed.

Issued: April 26, 2024
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

4
The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance.” 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d).

2