United States Department of Labor

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board

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S.C., Appellant

and

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE,

New Orleans, LA, Employer

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Docket No. 23-0094

Issued: March 20, 2023

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Anita Lewallen, for the appellant1

Office of Solicitor, for the Director

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL

Before:

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge

VALERIE D. EVANS-HARRELL, Alternate Judge

JAMES D. McGINLEY, Alternate Judge

On October 31, 2022 appellant, through her representative, filed an appeal from a

purported October 26, 2022 decision of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). 

The Clerk of the Appellate Boards assigned Docket No. 23-0094.

The Board has duly considered the matter and notes that the Board has jurisdiction to

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

(FECA).2 This jurisdiction encompasses any final decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of

the date appellant filed his appeal.3 The case record contains an October 26, 2022 Board order 

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 §§ 50l.2(c) and 50l.3(a).

3

Id. at § 50l.3(e) providesin pertinent part: “Any notice of appeal must be filed within 180 days from the date of 

issuance of a decision of the OWCP.”
2

dismissing appeal issued in Docket No. 23-0016, finding that the appeal was untimely filed.4 

However, as of the filing of the current appeal, the most recent OWCP decision was dated 

January 19, 2022.5 As there is no final adverse decision issued by OWCP within 180 days of the 

filing of this appeal,6 over which the Board may properly exercise jurisdiction, the Board 

concludes that the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0094 must be dismissed.7 Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the appeal docketed as Docket No. 23-0094 is 

dismissed.8

Issued: March 20, 2023

Washington, DC

Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy 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 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).

5 Order Dismissing Appeal, Docket No. 23-0016 (issued October 26, 2022).

6

Supra note 3. 

7 The Board notes that appellant, through her representative, filed a timely petition for reconsideration from the 

Board’s October 26, 2022, order in Docket No. 23-0016. See 20 C.F.R. § 501.7(a). The Board will address that 

petition for reconsideration by separate order. 

8 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).