United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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C.J., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, MEMPHIS 

NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 

Memphis, TN, Employer

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Docket No. 22-0447

Issued: August 29, 2022

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Capp P. Taylor, for the appellant1

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On December 23, 2021 appellant, through her representative, filed an appeal from a 

purported August 25, 2021 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). 

The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 22-0447.

The Board, having duly considered the matter, notes that its jurisdiction is limited to the 

review of final adverseOWCP decisions issued under the Federal Employees’Compensation Act.2 

This jurisdiction encompasses any final decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the date 

appellant filed this appeal.3 Although the case record does contain a letter from OWCP dated 

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

5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.; 20 C.F.R. §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).

3

20 C.F.R. § 501.3(e) provides in pertinent part: “Any notice of appeal must be filed within 180 days from the 

date of issuance of a decision of the OWCP.”
2

August 25, 2021, it is informational in nature. Thus, it does not constitute a final adverse OWCP 

decision.4 As there is no final adverse OWCP decision over which the Board may properly 

exercise jurisdiction, the Board concludes that the appeal docketed as Docket No. 22-0447 must 

be dismissed. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 22-0447 is dismissed.5

Issued: August 29, 2022

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

James D. McGinley, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

4

See Order Dismissing Appeal,E.B., Docket No. 21-1281 (issued April5, 2022); Order Dismissing Appeal, K.S., 

Docket No. 20-1401 (issued March 17, 2021); Order Dismissing Appeal, S.U., Docket No. 20-0636 (issued 

December 3, 2020) (correspondence that is purely informational in nature does not constitute a final adverse decision 

of OWCP from which appellant may properly appeal). Id. at §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).

5 The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance.” Id. at 

§ 501.6(d).