United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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E.T., Appellant

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DEFENSE AGENCIES, DEFENSE 

COMMISSARY AGENCY, PARRIS ISLAND 

COMMISSARY, Parris Island, SC, Employer

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Docket No. 19-1046

Issued: December 31, 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 April 10, 2019 appellant filed a timely appeal from a March 18, 2019 decision of the 

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).1 The Clerk of the Appellate Boards 

docketed the appeal as No. 19-1046.2

In a January 24, 2019 preliminary notice of overpayment, OWCP advised appellant of its 

determination that she had received an overpayment of compensation in the amount of $76,441.93 

because she received Social Security Administration (SSA)/Federal Employees Retirement 

System age-related benefits as a part of her federal service, as well as Federal Employees’

Compensation Act (FECA) benefits for the period November 1, 2008 through March 3, 2018 

without the required offset. OWCP referred to the FERS Offset Calculation worksheet in support 

 

1 Appellant signed the AB-1 form on April 1, 2019. Following the receipt of her appeal, on May 1, 2019, the Board 

was notified that appellant had passed away on April 5, 2019. 

2 The Board notes that following the March 18, 2019 decision, OWCP received additional evidence. However, the 

Board’s Rules of Procedure provides: “The Board’s review of a case is limited to the evidence in the case record that 

was before OWCP at the time of its final decision. Evidence not before OWCP will not be considered by the Board 

for the first time on appeal.” 20 C.F.R. § 501.2(c)(1). Thus, the Board is precluded from reviewing this additional 

evidence for the first time on appeal. Id.
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of the fact overpayment. It indicated that, for each period, it calculated the amount that should 

have been offset for each 28-day FECA compensation period, divided that amount by 28 to get a 

daily offset amount for each period. OWCP then multiplied the daily offset amounts for each 

period by the number of days in each period to find the total amount that should have been offset 

for each period. A partially cut off worksheet provided overpayment amounts for the periods 

December 1, 2011 through December 9, 2017 and indicated that the total overpayment was 

$76,441.93. Copies of four separate reports noting SSA rates with and without FERS for the period 

November 2008 through December 2017 noted different amounts for SSA rate without FERS. 

By decision dated March 18, 2019, OWCP finalized its determination that appellant 

received a $76,441l.93 overpayment of compensation for the period November 1, 2008 through 

March 3, 2018, because it failed to offset her compensation payments by the portion of her SSA 

age-related benefits that were attributable to her federal service. 

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

The record indicates beginning November 1, 2008, appellant became eligible for and 

received age-related retirement benefits from SSA, while she continued to receive FECA wageloss compensation. A claimant cannot receive concurrent compensation for wage loss and SSA 

retirement benefits attributable to federal service for the same period.3 However, the record is not 

clear as to how the overpayment amount of $76,441.93 was calculated. A partially cut off 

worksheet indicated that the total overpayment was $76,441.93, but only provided overpayment 

amounts for the period December 1, 2011 through December 9, 2017. No overpayment amount 

for the period commencing November 2008 was provided. Additionally, while OWCP declared 

an overpayment from November 1, 2008 through March 3, 2018, the evidence of record provided 

overpayment amounts only for the period December 1, 2011 through December 9, 2017. There is 

no calculation showing the overpayment from December 9, 2017 through March 3, 2018. 

Furthermore, the record contains four separate documents noting SSA rates with and without 

FERS for the period November 2008 through December 2017, which contains different amounts 

for SSA rate without FERS. 

The Board has held that, in overpayment cases, it is essential that OWCP provide the

recipient of compensation with a clear statement showing how the overpayment was calculated.4 

With respect to the amount and duration of the overpayment, the Board finds that OWCP has not 

adequately explained how the amount and the period of the overpayment was determined in light 

of appellant’s receipt of age-related SSA benefit. The Board therefore finds that the overpayment 

 

3 20 C.F.R. § 10.421(d); FECA Bulletin No. 97-09 (February 3, 1997); see also A.C., Docket No. 18-1550 (issued 

February 21, 2019); N.B., Docket No. 18-0795 (issued January 4, 2019).

4 See J.M., Docket No. 18-1505 (issued June 21, 2019); Teresa A. Ripley, 56 ECAB 528 (2005).
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determination must be set aside and the case remanded for further consideration of evidence 

followed by a de novo decision. 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the March 18, 2019 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. 

Issued: December 31, 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