United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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D.C., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, CINCINNATICORRYVILLE STATION, Cincinnati, OH, 

Employer

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Docket No. 21-0703

Issued: November 19, 2021

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Alan J. Shapiro, Esq., for the appellant1

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On April 1, 2021 appellant, through counsel, sought an appeal from a purported 

January 25, 2021 final adverse decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs 

(OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 21-0703.

The Board, having duly considered the matter, notes that the Board has jurisdiction to 

review final adverse decisions of OWCP 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 the appeal.3 Counsel indicated that the appealwas filed with regard to a January 25, 

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.; id. at§§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).

3

Id. at § 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 OWCP.”
2

2021 OWCP decision. However, the January 25, 2021 OWCP decision was not a final adverse 

decision, rather, it was a preliminary overpayment determination. Section 501.2 (c)(2) of the 

Board’s Rules of Procedure provides: “There will be no appeal with respect to any interlocutory 

matter decided (or not decided) by OWCP during the pendency of a case.”

4

 Consequently, the 

case record as transmitted to the Board does not contain a final adverse decision of OWCP issued 

within 180 days from the date of docketing of the current appeal.5 As there is no final adverse 

decision issued by OWCP over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board 

concludes that the appeal docketed as No. 21-0703 must be dismissed.6 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0703 is dismissed.

Issued: November 19, 2021

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

4

Id. at § 501.2(c)(2).

5

Id. The Board notes that an appeal from OWCP decisions dated April6, 2021 and May 7, 2021 will proceed 

under Docket No. 21-0954.

6 The Board’s decisions and orders are “final upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of their issuance.” 20 

C.F.R. § 501.6(d).