United States Department of Labor 

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

__________________________________________ 

L.A., Appellant 

and 

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Bakersfield, CA, Employer 

__________________________________________ 

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Docket No. 16-1088 

Issued: August 10, 2016 

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Sally F. LaMacchia, Esq., for the appellant1

Office of Solicitor, for the Director 

ORDER REMANDING CASE 

Before: 

CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge 

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge 

COLLEEN DUFFY KIKO, Judge 

On April 27, 2016 appellant, through counsel, filed a timely application for review of a 

January 21, 2016 nonmerit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) 

denying her request for reconsideration as the request was untimely filed and the evidence failed 

to establish clear evidence of error. The appeal was docketed as No. 16-1088. 

The Board notes that on October 24, 2014 an OWCP hearing representative affirmed a 

March 11, 2014 decision which found that appellant had not established cervical disc disease, 

chronic pain syndrome, and bilateral shoulder conditions causally related to her federal 

employment. On October 26, 2015 counsel requested reconsideration and submitted additional 

medical evidence in support of the request. OWCP received the reconsideration request on 

October 26, 2015. 

The Board has considered the matter and finds that the October 26, 2015 request 

constituted a timely request for reconsideration. Section 10.607(a) of the implementing 

regulations provides that an application for reconsideration must be received within one year of 

the date of OWCP’s decision for which review is sought.2

 In computing the time for requesting 

 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

 20 C.F.R. § 10.607(a). 
2

reconsideration, the date of the event from which the designated time period begins to run shall 

not be included when computing the time period. However, the last day of the period shall be 

included unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday.3

 In this case, the last OWCP merit 

decision was dated October 24, 2014, and one year after this decision was Saturday, 

October 24, 2015. It is well established that, when a time limitation expires on a nonbusiness 

day, the limitation is extended to include the next business day.4 As October 24, 2015 was a 

Saturday, appellant had until October 26, 2015 to request reconsideration. Because appellant’s 

request for reconsideration was received on October 26, 2015, the Board finds that it was timely 

filed. 

Because appellant filed a timely reconsideration request, OWCP should have reviewed 

her request under the standard for a timely request.5 The clear evidence of error standard utilized 

by OWCP in its January 21, 2016 decision is appropriate only for untimely reconsideration 

requests.6 The Board will set aside OWCP’s January 21, 2016 decision and remand the case for 

an appropriate final decision on appellant’s timely request for reconsideration. 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the January 21, 2016 decision of the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside and the case remanded for further action 

consistent with this order of the Board. 

Issued: August 10, 2016 

Washington, DC 

 

 Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 3 Debra McDavid, 57 ECAB 149 (2005); see Donna M. Campbell, 55 ECAB 241 (2004); Angel M. Lebron, Jr., 

51 ECAB 488 (2000); John B. Montoya, 43 ECAB 1148 (1992). 

4 J.L., Docket No. 14-0703 (issued September 16, 2014). 

5 See 20 C.F.R. § 10.606(b)(3). 

6 Id. at § 10.607(b).