United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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T.B., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Levittown, NY, Employer

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Docket No. 17-0845

Issued: December 27, 2017

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Paul Kalker, 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 March 6, 2017 appellant, through counsel, filed a timely appeal from a February 8, 

2017 merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The appeal 

was docketed as No. 17-0845.

The Board finds that the case is not in posture for decision. Appellant filed an 

occupational disease claim (Form CA-2) on December 29, 2015, identifying repetitive motion in 

his job as a letter carrier. The medical evidence submitted diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome and 

noted that appellant had prior carpal tunnel surgeries. In a March 22, 2016 decision, OWCP 

indicated that appellant had a prior claim for carpal tunnel syndrome. According to OWCP, the 

claim at that time had been denied. OWCP also referred in the decision to evidence from the 

employing establishment controverting the current claim as appellant had preexisting carpal 

tunnel syndrome. The current case record provides a February 4, 2016 statement from the 

 

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

employing establishment describing appellant’s job duties, but does not discuss carpal tunnel 

syndrome. It is unclear whether relevant evidence was placed in the prior claim file.

In the February 8, 2017 decision, OWCP does not acknowledge that appellant had a prior 

claim for carpal tunnel syndrome, nor does OWCP acknowledge any further development of the 

prior claim or any relevant evidence from that claim.

The two claims have not been administratively combined. The Board finds that a proper 

adjudication of the current claim must include the prior claim. OWCP procedures provide that 

cases should be combined when necessary for correct adjudication of the issues.2 It should 

combine the case records and provide a proper history of the case and discuss any accepted 

conditions. By combining the case records and reviewing all of the evidence, OWCP may 

properly review the issues presented with respect to the claim filed on December 29, 2015. It

should then issue an appropriate merit decision.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the decision of the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs dated February 8, 2017 is set aside and the case is remanded to OWCP 

for further action consistent with this order of the Board.3

Issued: December 27, 2017

Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

 

2

Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, File Maintenance & Management, Chapter 2.400.8(c) 

(February 2000).

3 Colleen Duffy Kiko, Judge, participated in the preparation of this order, but was no longer a member of the 

Board effective December 11, 2017