United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

__________________________________________

L.R., Appellant

and

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

ADMINISTRATION, Madison, WI, Employer

__________________________________________

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

Docket No. 21-1378

Issued: March 23, 2023

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER REMANDING CASE

Before:

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Chief Judge

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On September 7, 2021 appellant filed a timely appeal from an August 2, 2021 merit 

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

Boards assigned the appeal Docket No. 21-1378. 

On April 15, 2015 appellant, then a 46-year-old transportation security officer (screener), 

filed an occupational disease claim (Form CA-2) for recurrent facial cellulitis, due to factors of 

her federal employment, which she attributed to alleged exposure to bacteria in the employing 

establishment’s breakroom. She noted that she first became aware of her condition on 

December 28, 2006 and realized its relation to her federal employment on January 28, 2015. The 

employing establishment indicated that appellant initially reported her condition on October 19, 

2010, and that each year she had been off work intermittently due to recurrent facial cellulitis. It 

further noted that she was last exposed to the alleged working conditions on April 16, 2015. 

OWCP assigned the present claim OWCP File No. xxxxxx918.

In an undated narrative statement received June 12, 2015, appellant asserted that she 

contracted facial cellulitis while cleaning the breakroom as management supplied a cleanser, which 

was not a disinfectant. She added that dirty water frequently accumulated in the warm, dark

environment of the mop closet, creating an unsanitary workplace. 
2

By decision dated October 29, 2015, OWCP denied the claim, finding that the evidence of 

record was insufficient to establish that the employment exposure to bacteria occurred as alleged. 

Appellant timely requested an oral hearing before a representative of OWCP’s Branch of Hearings 

and Review. By decision dated August 2, 2016, OWCP’s hearing representative affirmed the 

October 29, 2015 decision. Appellant subsequently requested reconsideration. OWCP, however, 

denied modification. 

The Board notes that on May 31, 2017, appellant filed another Form CA-2 alleging that 

she sustained recurrent facial cellulitis due to factors of her federal employment, including bacteria

exposure in an employing establishment restroom and breakroom. Appellant noted that she first 

became aware of her claimed condition on May 8, 2015 and realized its relation to her employment 

on April 1, 2015. OWCP assigned that claim OWCP File No. xxxxxx633. On March 16, 2018 it

accepted appellant’s claim under OWCP File No. xxxxxx633 for temporary aggravation of facial 

cellulitis.1 

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

decision.

The case record establishes that OWCP has already accepted a temporary aggravation of 

facial cellulitis under OWCP File No. xxxxxx633, also due to exposure to bacteria in an employing 

establishment breakroom. In light of the fact that appellant identified the same claimed exposure

in OWCP File No. xxxxxx633 as in the present claim, it is essential for OWCP to determine 

whether or not either claim is a duplicate claim. To consider appellant’s appeal at this stage would 

involve a piecemeal adjudication of the issues in this case and raise the possibility of inconsistent 

results. It is the Board’s policy to avoid such an outcome.2 On remand, OWCP shall review the 

case records in OWCP File Nos. xxxxxx918 and xxxxxx633and determine whether they constitute 

duplicate claims, followed by any further development as deemed necessary.

1 On August 24, 2020, OWCP administratively combined OWCP File Nos. xxxxxx918 and xxxxxx633, with the 

latter designated as the master file.

2

See M.S., Docket No. 13-1024 (issued January 14, 2014); WilliamT. McCracken, 33 ECAB 1197 (1982).
3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the August 2, 2021 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: March 23, 2023

Washington, DC

Alec J. Koromilas, Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

James D. McGinley, Alternate Judge

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board