G.K. and Department of the Navy, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (Board decision, May 8, 2024)

ECAB final decision dismissing appeal. The Board dismissed the appeal because the challenged OWCP decision approved attorney fees and was not adverse to the appellant. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), Board decisions and orders become final 30 days after issuance. 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

G.K. appealed an OWCP decision that approved $1,425 in attorney fees for counsel's services. The Board held that this decision was not adverse to G.K. and therefore was not appealable. The Board also noted that a separate decision ending compensation after refusal of temporary work was not before it because counsel had not appealed that decision. It dismissed the appeal.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authorities: 5 U.S.C. § 8101; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c), 501.3(a), and 501.6(d).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed because the challenged OWCP decision was not adverse.
• Key point: The Board reviews final adverse OWCP decisions, not a decision approving fees for the appellant's counsel.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
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G.K., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 24-0313
)
Issued: May 8, 2024
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, MARINE
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CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER,
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Twentynine Palms, CA, Employer
)
__________ )

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record
Stephanie Leet, Esq., for the appellant1
Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:
ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

On February 6, 2024 appellant, through counsel, filed an appeal from a purported January 23, 2024 adverse decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). 2 The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 24-0313.

1
In all cases in which a representative has been authorized in a matter before the Board, no claim for a fee for legal or other service performed on appeal before the Board is valid unless approved by the Board. 20 C.F.R. § 501.9(e). No contract for a stipulated fee or on a contingent fee basis will be approved by the Board. Id. An attorney or representative’s collection of a fee without the Board’s approval may constitute a misdemeanor, subject to fine or imprisonment for up to one year or both. Id.; see also 18 U.S.C. § 292. Demands for payment of fees to a representative, prior to approval by the Board, may be reported to appropriate authorities for investigation. 2 The case record also contains a January 11, 2024 merit decision of OWCP’s Branch of Hearings and Review, affirming an October 19, 2023 decision of OWCP finding that appellant refused an offer of temporary employment offered under Section 8106(c)(2) of the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA), thus disentitling him to any further compensation for wage-loss and/or schedule award benefits on or after October 19, 2023. As counsel did not appeal this decision, the Board will not consider it in this appeal. See 20 C.F.R. § 501.3; see also T.S., Docket No. 23-1127 (issued December 27, 2023); T.L., Docket No. 22-0881 (issued December 14, 2022); D.E., Docket No. 21-0531 (issued June 16, 2021).
The Board has duly considered this matter and notes that it has jurisdiction to review final adverse decisions of OWCP issued under FECA. 3 This jurisdiction encompasses any final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed the appeal. 4

Although there is a January 23, 2024 decision of OWCP of record, this decision deemed approved fees in the amount of $1,425.00 for counsel’s services in connection with appellant’s claim. As such, the Board finds that the January 23, 2024 decision of OWCP was not adverse to appellant and, therefore, it is not subject to appeal. 5 Thus, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 24-0313 must be dismissed. 6 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 24-0313 is dismissed.

Issued: May 8, 2024
Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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

Janice B. Askin, Judge
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

3
5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
4
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 OWCP.
5
Id. at § 501.3(a).
6
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