S.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Main Office Little Rock Post Office (Board decision, April 26, 2024)

ECAB final decision. The Board dismissed an appeal without a reviewable OWCP decision and also dismissed a petition to reconsider its earlier decision as untimely. 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 appealed what he described as a December 7, 2023 OWCP decision. The Board found no final adverse OWCP decision within its jurisdiction. December 7 was the date of the Board’s own earlier decision, and the January 25, 2024 filing also came too late to seek reconsideration of that decision. The Board dismissed both the new appeal and the reconsideration petition.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Board jurisdiction under 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3; reconsideration under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).
• Outcome: Docket 24-0273 appeal and Docket 22-1070 reconsideration petition dismissed.
• Key point: A Board decision is not a new OWCP decision, and reconsideration of it must be requested within the Board’s deadline.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
S.P., Appellant
)
)
Docket Nos. 24-0273 &
and ) 22-1070
)
Issued: April 26, 2024
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, MAIN OFFICE )
LITTLE ROCK POST OFFICE, Little Rock, AR, )
Employer
__________ )

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

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL IN DOCKET NO. 24-0273 AND DISMISSING PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION IN DOCKET NO. 22-1070

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

On January 25, 2024 appellant sought an appeal from a purported December 7, 2023 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 24-0273.

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 This jurisdiction encompasses any final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed his appeal.2 The December 7, 2023 decision was a Board decision assigned Docket No. 22-1070.3 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of

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.”
3
Docket No. 22-1070 (issued December 7, 2023). the filing of this appeal over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, 4 the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 24-0273 must be dismissed.

To the extent that appellant’s January 25, 2024 appeal may be construed as a petition for reconsideration of the Board’s December 7, 2023 decision in Docket No. 22-1070, the Board notes that its decision became final 30 days after its issuance. 5 As appellant did not file his disagreement with the Board’s December 7, 2023 decision until January 25 2024,this submission may not be deemed as a timely petition for reconsideration as it was filed in excess of 30 days from the date of issuance.6 Thus, the petition for reconsideration of the December 7, 2023 Board decision in Docket No. 22-1070 must be dismissed as untimely filed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 24-0273 is dismissed.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT the petition for reconsideration in Docket No.
22-1070 is dismissed as untimely filed. 7

Issued: April 26, 2024
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
Supra note 2.
5
20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d).
6
See id. at § 501.7(a).
7
The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance.” Supra note 5.

2