United States Department of Labor 

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

__________________________________________ 

L.S., Appellant 

and 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, 

CENTRAL ALABAMA HEALTHCARE 

SYSTEM, Montgomery, AL, Employer 

__________________________________________ 

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Docket No. 17-0809 

Issued: July 21, 2017 

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se 

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 February 21, 2017 appellant filed a timely application for review from an August 25, 

2016 nonmerit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk 

of the Appellate Boards docketed the appeal as No. 17-0809. 

The Board has duly considered the matter and finds that the case is not in posture for a 

decision and must be remanded to OWCP. Appellant filed a traumatic injury claim (Form CA-1) 

alleging that on March 19, 2013 she had neck, back, shoulder, and arm pain when a veteran lost 

his balance and pulled her arm. She submitted medical evidence in support of her claim. In an 

August 8, 2013 decision, OWCP denied appellant’s claim finding that the medical evidence of 

record was insufficient to establish that she had a medical condition causally related to the 

accepted employment incident. On August 25, 2013 appellant requested a telephone hearing 

before an OWCP hearing representative and submitted additional medical evidence. In an 

April 30, 2014 decision, an OWCP hearing representative affirmed the August 8, 2013 decision. 

She found that the medical evidence of record did not contain a rationalized medical opinion to 

establish that appellant sustained an injury causally related to the accepted March 19, 2013 

employment incident. 

By letter dated August 10, 2016, appellant requested reconsideration. In an August 25, 

2016 decision, OWCP applied the standard applicable to timely requests for reconsideration and 

denied appellant’s request for reconsideration after finding that she had neither raised substantive 
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legal questions nor included new, relevant evidence sufficient to warrant reopening the case for 

further merit review under section 8128(a) of FECA.1 As the last merit decision issued in this 

case was issued on April 30, 2014, appellant’s August 10, 2016 request for reconsideration was 

untimely. OWCP regulations provide that the one-year time limitation period for requesting 

reconsideration begins on the date of the original OWCP merit decision.2

 Aright to 

reconsideration within one year also accompanies any subsequent merit decision on the issues.3

 

OWCP procedures provide that timeliness is determined by the date that the request is received 

by OWCP (the received date in the Integrated Federal Employees’ Compensation System 

(iFECS)).4

 If the request for reconsideration has a document received date greater than one year, 

the request must be considered untimely.5 As appellant’s request for reconsideration was 

untimely filed, OWCP erroneously reviewed her request for reconsideration using the standard 

for timely reconsideration requests.6

 The Board will, consequently, remand the case for 

application of the proper standard, to be followed by the issuance of an appropriate decision. 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the August 25, 2016 decision of the Office of 

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

proceedings consistent with this order of the Board. 

 1

 5 U.S.C. § 8128(a). 

2

 20 C.F.R. § 10.607(a). 

3 Robert F. Stone, 57 ECAB 292 (2005). 

4 Supra note 2; Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, Reconsiderations, Chapter 2.1602.4(b) 

(February 2016); G.F., Docket No. 15-1053 (September 11, 2015). 

5 R.Y., Docket No. 16-1301 (issued December 15, 2016); T.E., Docket No. 16-0574 (issued August 18, 2016). 

6 See L.D., Docket No. 15-0865 (issued October 6, 2015); H.L., Docket No. 13-2077 (issued March 20, 2014). 
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Issued: July 21, 2017 

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