United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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T.S., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, 

Coppell, TX, Employer

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Docket No. 22-0830

Issued: December 19, 2022

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

JANICE B. ASKIN, Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

JURISDICTION

On May 5, 2022 appellant filed a timely appeal from a March 7, 2022 merit decision of the 

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).1 The Clerk of the Appellate Boards 

assigned Docket No. 22-0830.

On February 19, 2022 appellant, then a 62-year-old mail handler, filed a traumatic injury 

claim (Form CA-1) alleging that on January 11, 2022 she contracted COVID-19 after working in 

the rewrap area in which another employee tested positive while in the performance of duty. She 

stopped work on January 11, 2022 and returned to work on February 7, 2022.

1 The Board notes that, following the March 7, 2022 decision, appellant submitted additional evidence to OWCP.

However, the Board’s Rules of Procedures 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

Appellant submitted a note dated January 11, 2022, which indicated that she tested positive 

for COVID-19. The note was signed by a healthcare professional from a medical facility whose 

signature was illegible.

By decision dated March 7, 2022, OWCP denied appellant’s claim for continuation of pay 

(COP), finding that she had not reported her injury on an OWCP-approved form within 30 days of 

the January 11, 2022 employment injury. It further noted that the decision affected only her 

entitlement to COP and did not affect her entitlement to other benefits. OWCP notified appellant 

that she could claim compensation for wage loss resulting from the decision by filing a claim for 

compensation (Form CA-7).

The Board, having duly considered the matter, finds that this case is not in posture for 

decision.

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 

this title.2 This latter section provides that written notice of injury shall be given within 30 days. 3 

The context of section 8122 makes clear that this means within 30 days of the injury. 4

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.5

FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 at subsection II.2., however, provides that, “The FECA program 

considers COVID-19 to be a traumatic injury since it is contracted during a single workday or shift 

(see 20 C.F.R. § 10.5(ee)), and considers the date of last exposure prior to the medical evidence 

establishing the COVID-19 diagnosis as the date of injury since the precise time of transmission 

may not always be known due to the nature of the virus.”

6

2

Id. at § 8118(a).

3

Id. at § 8122(a)(2).

4 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).

5

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); see alsoDodge Osborne, 44 ECAB 849 (1993); WilliamE. Ostertag, 33 ECAB 

1925(1982).

6 FECA Bulletin No. 21-09.II.2 (issued April29, 2021). On March 11, 2021 the American Rescue Plan Act of 

2021 (ARPA) was signed into law. Pub. L. No. 117-2. OWCP issued FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 to provide guidance 

regarding the processing of COVID-19 FECA claims as set forth in the ARPA. Previously, COVID-19 claims under 

FECA were processed under the guidelines provided by FECA Bulletin No. 20-05 (issued March 31, 2020) and FECA 

Bulletin No. 21-01 (issued October 21, 2020). FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 supersedes FECA Bulletin Nos. 20-05 and 

21-01.
3

In denying appellant’s claim for COP, OWCP failed to consider the date of last exposure 

as the date of injury in accordance with the guidance in FECA Bulletin No. 21-09. This case will 

therefore be remandedfor application of FECA Bulletin No. 21-09 with regard to appellant’s claim 

for COP.7 Following this and other such further development as deemed necessary, OWCP shall 

issue a de novo decision. Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the March 7, 2022 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: December 19, 2022

Washington, DC

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Janice B. Askin, Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Valerie D. Evans-Harrell, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

7

See e.g., Order Remanding Case, W.G., Docket No. 18-0451 (issued February 21, 2019) (The Board found that 

OWCP failed to properly develop the medical evidence by requesting the DMA to provide an impairment rating in 

accordance with the new guidance in FECA Bulletin No. 17-06 for consistently rating upper extremity impairments. 

The Board remanded the case for further development consistent with OWCP procedures in FECA Bulletin No. 

17-06); Order Remanding Case, H.W., Docket No. 10-404 (issued September 28, 2011) (The Board remanded the 

case to OWCP for selection of another impartial medical specialist in accordance with its procedures).