United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

__________________________________________

L.S., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Louisville, KY, Employer

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Docket No. 21-1064

Issued: April 14, 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

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

JURISDICTION

On July 8, 2021 appellant filed a timely appeal from a July 2, 2021 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.2

1

5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.

2 The Board notes that appellant submitted additional evidence following the July 2, 2021 decision. 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.
2

ISSUE

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

continuation of pay (COP).

FACTUAL HISTORY

On May 18, 2021 appellant, then a 50-year-old carrier technician, filed a traumatic injury 

claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on November 5, 2020 she contracted COVID-19 after she was 

exposed while in the performance of duty, to coworkers who had tested positive. She related that 

she tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized from November 6 to 11, 2020 and 

remained in quarantine and off work until January 8, 2021.

In support of her claim, appellant submitted treatment records from physicians at a 

healthcare facility relating to her November 6, 2020 hospitalization. These records noted 

diagnoses, including COVID-19 and pneumonia.

In a letter dated June 1, 2021, OWCP informed appellant that it had preliminarily 

determined that she had met the criteria for the diagnosis of COVID-19 proximately caused by her 

employment. It noted thatshe would be eligible for COP if her Form CA-1 was filed within 30 

days following injury.

In a June 17, 2021 letter, OWCP requested that appellant provide evidence to substantiate 

her COVID-19 diagnosis, either in the form of a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

COVID-19 test result or a positive antibody or antigen COVID-19 test result, together with 

contemporaneous medical evidence that she had documented symptoms of and/or was treated for 

COVID-19 by a physician. It explained that, if no positive laboratory test was available, she should 

submit a COVID-19 diagnosis from a physician with a rationalized medical opinion supporting 

the diagnosis and an explanation as to why a positive test result was not available.

On July 2, 2021 OWCP accepted appellant’s claim for novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

By separate decision dated July 2, 2021, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for COP, finding 

that she had not reported her November 5, 2020 injury on an OWCP-approved form within 30 

days of the date of injury. It further noted 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 
3

this title.3 This latter section provides that written notice of injury shall be given within 30 days.4 

The context of section 8122 makes clear that this means within 30 days of the injury. 5

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.6

ANALYSIS

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

COP.

Appellant filed written notice of her traumatic injury (Form CA-1) on May 18, 2021. By 

decision dated July 2, 2021, OWCP denied her request for COP, as her claim was not filed within 

30 days of the accepted November 5, 2020 employment injury. It noted that the denial of COP 

did not preclude appellant from filing a claim for disability due to the effects of the accepted 

employment injury. Because she filed written notice of her traumatic injury claim on May 18, 

2021, more than 30 days after the accepted November 5, 2020 employment injury, the Board finds 

that appellant has not met her burden of proof to establish entitlement to COP.

CONCLUSION

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

COP.

3

Supra note 1 at § 8118(a).

4

Id. at § 8122(a)(2).

5 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, 763-64 (1989); Myra Lenburg, 36 ECAB 487, 489 (1985).

6

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); William E. Ostertag, 33 ECAB 1925(1982).
4

ORDER

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the July 2, 2021 decision of the Office of Workers’

Compensation Programs is affirmed.

Issued: April 14, 2022

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board