United States Department of Labor

Employee’ Compensation Appeals Board

__________________________________________

S.C., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, PROCESSING & 

DISTRIBUTION CENTER, Richmond, VA, 

Employer

__________________________________________

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Docket No. 19-0230

Issued: August 21, 2019

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

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

On November 9, 2018 appellant filed a timely appeal from a June 27, 2018 decision of the 

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards

docketed the appeal as No. 19-0230.

On December 4, 2015 appellant, then a 54-year-old mail handler, filed an occupational 

disease claim (Form CA-2) alleging that he developed bilateral wrist condition due to factors of 

his federal employment including processing bundles of magazines with a manual cutter. By 

decision dated February18, 2016, OWCP denied his claim as it found that he had not met his 

burden of proof to establish the medical element of fact of injury. By decision dated October 6, 

2016, it denied modification finding that appellant had not submitted medical evidence containing

a diagnosis related to the accepted employment factors. OWCP, by decision dated May 16, 2017,

granted modification finding that he had established a medical diagnosis, but again denied that 

claim finding that he had not met his burden of proof to establish causal relationship. 

On May 21, 2018 appellant requested reconsideration of the May 16, 2017 decision. By 

decision dated June 27, 2018, it denied reconsideration pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 8128(a). 

Section 10.607(a) of the implementing regulations provides that an application for 

reconsideration must be received within one year of OWCP’s last merit decision for which review 

is sought.1 Timeliness is determined by the document receipt date of the request for 

 

1 20 C.F.R. § 10.607(a).
2

reconsideration as indicated by the received date in the integrated Federal Employees’

Compensation System (iFECS).2 In this case, appellant sought review of the May 16, 2017 

decision, but his request for reconsideration was not received into iFECS until May 21, 2018. 

Thus, his request for reconsideration was received after the expiration of the one-year time 

limitation from OWCP’s last merit decision.

OWCP will consider an untimely application only if the application demonstrates clear 

evidence of error on the part of its most recent decision. The application must establish, on its 

face, that the decision was erroneous.3

The Board has duly considered the matter and finds that appellant’s request for 

reconsideration was untimely filed. Because appellant filed an untimely reconsideration request, 

the case will be remanded to OWCP for application of the correct standard of review which is 

applied to untimely reconsideration requests, the clear evidence of error standard.

4

 The standard 

utilized by OWCP in its June 27, 2018 decision is appropriate only for timely reconsideration 

requests. After such further development as OWCP deems necessary, it shall issue an appropriate 

decision. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the June 27, 2018 decision of the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs is set aside and the case is remanded for further action consistent with 

this order of the Board. 

 

2 Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, Reconsiderations, Chapter 2.1602.4(b) (February 2016).

3

Id. at § 10.607. See also C.B., Docket No. 17-0933 (issued July 17, 2017); A.B., Docket No. 15-0521 (issued 

June 13, 2016).

4

Id. at § 10.606(b).
3

Issued: August 21, 2019

Washington, DC

Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board