United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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H.J., Appellant

and

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 

CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION, 

DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, 

Sterling, VA, Employer

__________________________________________

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Docket No. 22-0772

Issued: August 25, 2022

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

DECISION AND ORDER

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

JURISDICTION

On April 7, 2022 appellant filed a timely appeal from a March 7, 2022 merit decision of 

the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). Pursuant to the Federal Employees’

Compensation Act1(FECA) and 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3, the Board has jurisdiction over 

the merits of this case.

ISSUE

The issue is whether appellant has met her burden of proof to establish entitlement to 

continuation of pay (COP).

FACTUAL HISTORY

On February 1, 2022 appellant, then a 30-year-old customs and border protection officer, 

filed a traumatic injury claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on December 16, 2021 she contracted 

1

5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.
2

COVID-19 through exposure while in the performance of duty. On the reverse side of the claim 

form her supervisor acknowledged that she was injured in the performance of duty. Appellant 

stopped work on December 16, 2021 and returned to work on January 2, 2022.

Appellant submitted a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result, collected on 

December 25, 2021, which revealed that she tested positive for COVID-19. 

By decision dated March 7, 2022, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for COP, finding that 

she had not reported the December 16, 2021 injury on an OWCP-approved form within 30 days 

of the date of injury. It further noted that the decision affected only her entitlement to COP and 

did not affect her entitlement to other benefits. OWCP notified appellant that she could claim 

compensation for wage-loss resulting from the decision by filing a claim for compensation (Form 

CA-7).

LEGAL PRECEDENT

Section 8118(a) of FECA authorizes COP, not to exceed 45 days, to an employee who has 

filed a claim for a period of wage loss due to a traumatic injury with his or her immediate superior 

on a form approved by the Secretary of Labor within the time specified in section 8122(a)(2) of 

this title.2 This latter section provides that written notice of injury shall be given within 30 days.3 

The context of section 8122 makes clear that this means within 30 days of the injury. 4

OWCP’s regulations provide, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for COP, an employee 

must: (1) have a traumatic injury, which is job related and the cause of the disability and/or the 

cause of lost time due to the need for medical examination and treatment; (2) file Form CA-1 

within 30 days of the date of the injury; and (3) begin losing time from work due to the traumatic 

injury within 45 days of the injury.5

ANALYSIS

The Board finds that appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish entitlement to 

COP.

Appellant filed her Form CA-1 on February 1, 2022. By decision dated March 7, 2022, 

OWCP denied her request for COP, as her claim was not filed within 30 days of the accepted 

employment incident. It noted that the denial of COP did not preclude appellant from filing a 

claim for disability due to the effects of an accepted employment injury.

2

Id. at § 8118(a).

3

Id. at § 8122(a)(2).

4 E.M., Docket No. 20-0837 (issued January 27, 2021); J.S., Docket No. 18-1086 (issued January 17, 2019);

Robert M. Kimzey, 40 ECAB 762-64 (1989);Myra Lenburg, 36 ECAB 487, 489 (1985).

5

20 C.F.R. § 10.205(a)(1-3); see also T.S., Docket No. 19-1228 (issued December 9, 2019); J.M., Docket No. 

09-1563 (issued February 26, 2010); Dodge Osborne, 44 ECAB 849 (1993); WilliamE. Ostertag, 33 ECAB 

1925 (1982).
3

Because appellant filed her Form CA-1 on February 1, 2022, the Board finds that it was 

not filed within 30 days of the December 16, 2021 employment injury, as specified in sections 

8118(a) and 8122(a)(2) of FECA.6 Accordingly, appellant is not entitled to COP.

Appellant may submit new evidence or argument with a written request for reconsideration 

to OWCP within one year of this merit decision, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 8128(a) and 20 C.F.R. 

§§ 10.605 through 10.607.

CONCLUSION

The Board finds that appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish entitlement to 

COP.

ORDER

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the March 7, 2022 decision of the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs is affirmed.

Issued: August 25, 2022

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

James D. McGinley, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

6

Id.