United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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T.T., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Indianapolis, IN, Employer

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Docket No. 20-0864

Issued: December 17, 2020

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Alternate Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On February 9, 2020 appellant filed a timely appeal from a January 16, 2020 merit decision

of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). By the January 16, 2020 decision,

OWCP denied expansion of the acceptance of appellant’s claim to include a small annular tear at

L5-S1, finding that the medical evidence of record was insufficient to establish that the additional

condition was caused or aggravated by her December 14, 2018 employment injury. The Clerk of

the Appellate Boards docketed the appeal as No. 20-0687.

During the pendency of the appeal in Docket No. 20-0687, OWCP also issued a March 6, 

2020 decision, in which it finalized the termination of appellant’s wage-loss compensation and 

medical benefits, effective that date, as the accepted employment-related lumbar conditions had 

resolved. On March 10, 2020 appellant filed a timely appeal from the March 6, 2020 merit

decision, to which the Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 20-0864. 

The Board’s Rules of Procedure, at section 501.2(c)(3), provides:

“The Board and OWCP may not exercise simultaneous jurisdiction over the same

issue in a case on appeal. Following the docketing of an appeal before the Board,
2

OWCP does not retain jurisdiction to render a further decision regarding the issue

on appeal until after the Board relinquishes jurisdiction.”

1

Similarly, section 10.626 of OWCP’s regulations provides in pertinent part:

“While a case is on appeal to the [the Board], OWCP has no jurisdiction over the

claim with respect to issues which directly relate to the issue or issues on appeal.

The OWCP continues to administer the claim and retains jurisdiction over issues

unrelated to the issue or issues on appeal and issues which arise after the appeal as

a result of ongoing administration of the case....”

2

The Board, having duly considered the matter, notes that OWCP was properly developing

the issue of whether the acceptance of appellant’s claim should be expanded to include an

additional lumbar condition,

3

as causally related to the accepted December 14, 2018 employment

injury,

4 prior to the issuance of its March 6, 2020 termination decision. However, once appellant

filed the Board appeal on February 9, 2020 in response to OWCP’s January 16, 2020 denial of her

expansion claim, OWCP had no jurisdiction to issue its March 6, 2020 termination decision as the

expansion issue was related to whether appellant’s employment-related conditions had resolved.5 

Consequently, the March 6, 2020 decision is null and void.6 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 8149 and 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a), the Board’s

jurisdiction is limited to the review of final adverse decisions of OWCP issued under the Federal

Employees’ Compensation Act. As the March 6, 2020 OWCP decision is null and void, the appeal

assigned Docket No. 20-0864 does not contain a final adverse decision over which the Board may

properly take jurisdiction. Therefore, the Board finds that the appeal docketed as No. 20-0864 is

dismissed.

 

1 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c)(3). See also M.S., Docket Nos. 19-1090 & 20-0408 (issued April 20, 2020); J.W., Docket 

No. 19-1688 (issued March 18, 2020); George Simpson, Docket No. 93-0452 (issued February 18, 1994); Arlonia B. 

Taylor, 44 ECAB 591 (1993) (Member, Groom concurring in part and dissenting in part); Douglas E. Billings, 41 

ECAB 880 (1990).

2 20 C.F.R. § 10.626.

3 D.F., Docket No. 19-1257 (issued July 19, 2020) (The Board found that appellant had met his burden of proof to 

establish that his post-traumatic stress disorder was causally related to the accepted employment injury prior to the 

termination of his wage-loss compensation and medical benefits. The Board further found that OWCP did not meet 

its burden of proof to terminate wage-loss compensation and medical benefits as it had not resolved the issue of 

whether the acceptance of appellant’s claim should be expanded to include his post-traumatic stress disorder prior to 

the issuance of the termination decision. The Board reversed OWCP’s decision and remanded the case to determine 

the extent and degree of any employment-related disability.)

4 OWCP accepted appellant’s claim for lumbar spine sprain, sprain of the sacroiliac joint, lumbar intervertebral disc 

disorders with myelopathy, and intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy of the lumbosacral region.

5 M.S. and Douglas E. Billings, supra note 1. See also D.F., Docket No. 19-1257 (issued July 14, 2020). 

6 The Board had held that decisions that change the status of a decision on appeal are null and void. Id. See also 

G.W., Docket No. 19-0260 (issued July 10, 2020); Cathy B. Millin, 51 ECAB 331 (2000).
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT Docket No. 20-0864 is dismissed.

Issued: December 17, 2020

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board