M.P. and Department of the Army, Headquarters, 7th U.S. Army Training Command (Board decision, August 11, 2026)

ECAB final decision dismissing appeal. The Board dismissed the appeal because the record contained no final adverse OWCP decision for it to review. 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 Army employee appealed what he described as an April 2026 OWCP decision. The Board found that the April document was a letter requesting evidence on a possible additional condition, rather than a final adverse decision. A recent OWCP decision had added conditions to his accepted claim, so it also was not adverse. The Board dismissed the appeal without deciding any unresolved claim issue.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c), 501.3, 501.6(d).
• Outcome: Appeal dismissed for lack of a reviewable final adverse decision.
• Key point: An informational development letter and a favorable claim expansion did not give the Board an adverse decision to review.

Full text (ECAB public release)

United States Department of Labor
Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

________
)
M.P., Appellant
)
)
and
)
) Docket No. 26-0492
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, ) Issued: August 11, 2026
HEADQUARTERS, 7TH U.S. ARMY
)
TRAINING COMMAND,
)
Grafenwoehr Community, APO, AE, 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
PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On April 27, 2026 appellant sought an appeal from a purported April 13, 2026 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards docketed the appeal as No. 26-0492.

The Board, having duly considered this matter, 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 the appeal.2 The only decision of record within 180 days of the filing of this appeal is OWCP’s March 24, 2026 decision which expanded the acceptance of the claim to include Achilles tendinitis and peroneal tendinitis of the left leg. However, this is not an adverse decision

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), which provides in pertinent part: Any notice of appeal must be filed within 180 days from the date of issuance of a decision of OWCP. and is, therefore, not subject to appeal.3 While OWCP issued a development letter on April 13, 2026 regarding the type of evidence needed to establish consequential left shoulder conditions, it is purely informational in nature and thus does not constitute a final adverse decision 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,5 the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 26-0492 must be dismissed.6 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 26-0492 is dismissed.

Issued: August 11, 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

3
20 C.F.R. § 501.3. See also Order Dismissing Appeal, C.H., Docket No. 22-0834 (issued August 24, 2022) (where the Board held that a decision expanding acceptance of the conditions in the claim was not adverse). 4 See Order Dismissing Appeal, K.H., Docket No. 25-0455 (issued January 12, 2026); Order Dismissing Appeal, M.M., Docket No. 25-0665 (issued July 17, 2025); 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). 5 Supra notes 3 and 4.
6
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