Interesting new ECAB precedent

It is not unusual to receive a letter from OWCP "denying" entitlement to some aspect of your benefits that does not include appeal rights. Without a final decision and appeal rights, if you asked for review, the Employees Compensation Appeals Board and the Branch of Hearings and Review would simply dismiss your request for review as there was no final appealable decision. In a very recent decision, the Board has explained that even if appeal rights are not attached to correspondence denying you benefits, that the Board still has jurisdiction to review the denial. This is a concept long recognized by the MSPB and in many other jurisdictions. It is a small step in the long process to rein in the Kafkaesque manner in which OWCP conducts itself.

If you receive a letter denying benefits that is not framed as a formal decision with appeal rights, you can still appeal that denial to the Board. In B.C., docket 11-1903, issued March 26, 2012, the Board writes:

On July 14, 2011 an OWCP claims examiner advised appellant that her case (xxxxxx595) had been formally denied by decision dated March 12, 1993. OWCP further explained that it could not consider a recurrence on a denied claim and, therefore, no further action would be taken concerning the June 14, 2011 recurrence claim. It effectively denied appellant's recurrence claim. However, the July 14, 2011 correspondence did not provide any appeal rights. The Board considers the claims examiner's July 14, 2011 action a final, adverse decision subject to review under 20 CFR §§ 501.2(c) and 501.3(a).

This represents a long overdue recognition that the Board has jurisdiction to review a denial even where the formatting of the denial document is flawed.