S.A. and Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (Board decision, February 10, 2026)

ECAB final decision dismissing appeal. The Board dismissed the appeal for lack of a final adverse OWCP decision. Under 20 C.F.R. § 501.6(d), this order becomes final 30 days after issuance. A party may petition the Board for reconsideration within 30 days unless this order specifies another period, under 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

Plain-English summary

An Interior Department employee appealed a July 2025 OWCP letter. The Board found that the letter only provided information and was not a final adverse decision. It dismissed the appeal without reviewing the underlying compensation matter.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.3, 501.6(d), 501.7(a).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of an appealable decision.
• Key point: Informational correspondence is not a final adverse decision that the Board may review.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
S.A., Appellant
)
)
and ) Docket No. 26-0032
) Issued: February 10, 2026
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU
)
OF LAND MANAGEMENT, Sacramento, 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 VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On October 13, 2025 appellant, through counsel, timely filed an appeal from a purported July 24, 2025 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards docketed the appeal as No. 26-0032.

The Board, having duly considered this matter, notes that its jurisdiction is limited to the review of final adverse OWCP decisions issued under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.2 This jurisdiction encompasses any final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date appellant filed this appeal.3 Although the case record does contain a letter from 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 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).
3
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.” OWCP dated July 24, 2025, it is informational in nature and does not constitute a final adverse decision. Correspondence that is purely informational in nature does not constitute a final adverse decision of OWCP from which appellant may properly appeal.4 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. 26-0032 must be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 26-0032 is dismissed.

Issued: February 10, 2026
Washington, DC

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

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

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

4
See 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a); 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).

2