United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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A.M., Appellant

and

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, 

AUDIE L. MURPHY MEMORIAL VETERANS 

HOSPITAL, San Antonio, TX, Employer

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Docket No. 21-0320&20-1405

Issued: September 20, 2021

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL IN DOCKET NO. 21-0320 AND 

DISMISSING PETTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

IN DOCKET NO. 20-1405

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

On January 3, 2021 appellant sought an appeal from two purported decisions of the Office 

of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned 

Docket No. 21-0320.

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

review of final adverse OWCP decisions issued under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act.1 

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.2 The most recent OWCP 

decision is dated October 27, 2017. By a January 23, 2020 decision in Docket No. 18-0562, the 

Board affirmed the October 27, 2017 OWCP decision, finding that appellant did not meet her 

burden of proof to establish that her condition was causally related to the accepted factors of her 

 

1

5 U.S.C. § 8149; 20 C.F.R. §§ 50l.2(c) and 50l.3(a).

2

20 C.F.R. § 50l.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

federal employment.3 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. 21-0320

must be dismissed. Regarding whether appellant’s January 3, 2021 appeal may be construed as a 

petition for reconsideration of the Board’s October 16, 2020 order dismissing appeal in Docket 

No. 20-1405 and order dismissing petition for reconsideration in Docket No. 18-0562,

4

the Board 

concludes that it must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Section 501.7(a) of the Board’s Rules 

of Procedure5 provides that, “The Appellant or the Director [of OWCP] may file a petition for 

reconsideration of a decision or order issued by the Board within 30 days of the date of 

issuance....” The Board notes that its October 16, 2020 decision became final upon the expiration 

of 30 days from the date thereof.

6

 The Board’s October 16, 2020 order also dismissed appellant’s

petition for reconsideration in Docket No. 18-0562 as not filed within 30 days of the Board’s 

January 23, 2020 decision. As there is no provision in the Board’s Rules of Procedure7for filing 

a petition for reconsideration of the denial of a petition for reconsideration, the Board concludes 

that it lacks jurisdiction to either grant or deny appellant’s petition for reconsideration. 8 

Accordingly,

 

3 Docket No. 18-0562 (issued January 23, 2020).

4 Docket Nos. 20-1405 &18-0562 (issued October 16, 2020).

5

20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a).

6

Id. at § 501.6(d).

7

Id. at § 501 et seq.

8

See John A. Johnson, 44 ECAB 602 (1993) (wherein the Board dismissed appellant’s petition for reconsideration 

of a denial of a petition for reconsideration, finding no basis to file a second petition for reconsideration, pursuant to 

20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a)).
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as No. 21-0320 is dismissed.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT the petition for reconsideration in Docket No. 20-

1405 is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. 

Issued: September 20, 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