United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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R.G., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Kearny, NJ, Employer

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Docket No. 21-0006

Issued: September 23, 2022

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Michael D. Overman, Esq., for the appellant1

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

On October 2, 2020 appellant, through counsel, filed a timely appeal from a May 26, 2020 

merit decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the 

Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 21-0006.

On March 21, 2008 appellant, then a 46-year-old letter carrier, filed an occupational 

disease claim (Form CA-2) alleging that she had sustained cervical cord compression at C5 and 

C6 and carpal tunnel syndrome causally related to factors of her federal employment. She noted 

that she first became aware of her condition on February 12, 2008 and realized its relation to her 

federal employment on March 4, 2008. OWCP assigned the claim OWCP File No. xxxxxx741 

and accepted it for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Appellant returned to full-time limited-duty 

work on October 27, 2009. On June 23, 2010 she underwent an OWCP-authorized right carpal 

1

In all cases in which a representative has been authorized in a matter before the Board, no claim for a fee for legal 

or other service performed on appeal before the Board is valid unless approved by the Board. 20 C.F.R. § 501.9(e). 

No contract for a stipulated fee or on a contingent fee basis will be approved by the Board. Id. An attorney or 

representative’s collection of a fee without the Board’s approval may constitute a misdemeanor, subject to fine or 

imprisonment for up to one year or both. Id.; see also 18 U.S.C. § 292. Demands for payment of fees to a 

representative, prior to approval by the Board, may be reported to appropriate authorities for investigation.
2

tunnel release. OWCP paid appellant wage-loss compensation on the supplemental rolls from 

June 28, 2010 through January 7, 2011, when she returned to work. 

On October 4, 2017 appellant filed a claim for a schedule award (Form CA-7). 

On April 6, 2018 appellant filed a claim for traumatic injury (Form CA-1), alleging that on 

that date she sustained right arm and knee injuries when a cluster box she was opening fell from 

of the wall. OWCP assigned that claim OWCP File No. xxxxxx525 and accepted it for strain of 

the fascia and tendon of the right upper arm and shoulder.

On May 8, 2018 OWCP administratively combined OWCP File No. xxxxxx171, an 

occupational disease claim which was accepted for aggravation of C5-C6 disc herniation, into the 

current File No. xxxxxx741, with the current file designated as the master file. 

By decision dated November 27, 2019, under OWCP File No. xxxxxx741, OWCP granted 

appellant a schedule award for two percent permanent impairment of the right upper extremity. It 

also found that she had zero percent permanent impairment of the left upper extremity. 

On December 5, 2019 appellant, through counsel, requested an oral hearing before a

representative of OWCP’s Branch of Hearings and Review.

By decision dated May 26, 2020, OWCP’s hearing representative affirmed the 

November 27, 2019 decision. 

The Board has duly considered the matter and finds that this case is not in posture for 

decision. 

Under its procedures, OWCP has determined that cases should be administratively 

combined where a new injury case is reported for an employee who previously filed an injury 

claim for the same part of the body and where correct adjudication depends on cross-referencing 

between files.2 This will allow OWCP to consider all relevant claim files in developing this 

schedule award claim.

Appellant has a subsequently filed claim under OWCP File No. xxxxxx525 which also 

alleges injury to her right upper extremity. Therefore, for a full and fair adjudication, the Board 

will remand the case for OWCP to administratively combine OWCP File No. xxxxxx525 with 

OWCP File Nos. xxxxxx741 and xxxxxx171. OWCP shall then update the SOAF and refer 

appellant to a new IME for an opinion on the nature and extent of her permanent impairment. 

Following this and other such further development as deemed necessary, OWCP shall issue a de 

novo decision.

2 Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, File Maintenance and Management, Chapter 2.400.8(c) 

(February2000). See alsoOrder Remanding Case, M.W., 20-1221 (issued July 6, 2021).
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the May 26, 2020 decision of the Office of Workers’

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

with this order of the Board.

Issued: September 23, 2022

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board