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5 U.S.C. 301, 8102a, 8103, 8145 and 8149; 31 U.S.C. 3716 and 3717; Reorganization Plan No. 6 of 1950, 15 FR 3174, 64 Stat. 1263; Secretary of Labor's Order No. 10-2009, 74 FR 218; Pub. L. 117-263.
76 FR 37903, June 28, 2011, unless otherwise noted.
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Subscribe to: 20 CFR Part 10 Subpart G - Reconsiderations and Reviews by the Director
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The FECA provides that the Director may review an award for or against compensation upon application by an employee (or his or her representative) who receives an adverse decision. The employee shall exercise this right through a request to the district office. The request, along with the supporting statements and evidence, is called the “application for reconsideration.”
(a) An employee (or representative) seeking reconsideration should send the application for reconsideration to the address as instructed by OWCP in the final decision.
(b) The application for reconsideration, including all supporting documents, must:
(1) Be submitted in writing;
(2) Be signed and dated by the claimant or the authorized representative; and
(3) Set forth arguments and contain evidence that either:
(i) Shows that OWCP erroneously applied or interpreted a specific point of law;
(ii) Advances a relevant legal argument not previously considered by OWCP; or
(iii) Constitutes relevant and pertinent new evidence not previously considered by OWCP.
(a) An application for reconsideration must be received by OWCP within one year of the date of the OWCP decision for which review is sought.
(b) OWCP will consider an untimely application for reconsideration only if the application demonstrates clear evidence of error on the part of OWCP in its most recent merit decision. The application must establish, on its face, that such decision was erroneous.
(c) The year in which a claimant has to timely request reconsideration shall not include any period subsequent to an OWCP decision for which the claimant can establish through probative medical evidence that he or she is unable to communicate in any way and that his or her testimony is necessary in order to obtain modification of the decision.
(a) A timely request for reconsideration may be granted if OWCP determines that the employee has presented evidence and/or argument that meets at least one of the standards described in § 10.606(b)(3). If reconsideration is granted, the case is reopened and the case is reviewed on its merits (see § 10.609).
(b) Where the request is timely but fails to meet at least one of the standards described in § 10.606(b)(3), or where the request is untimely and fails to present any clear evidence of error, OWCP will deny the application for reconsideration without reopening the case for a review on the merits. A decision denying an application for reconsideration cannot be the subject of another application for reconsideration. The only review for this type of non-merit decision is an appeal to the ECAB (see § 10.625), and OWCP will not entertain a request for reconsideration or a hearing on this decision denying reconsideration.
When application for reconsideration is granted, OWCP will review the decision for which reconsideration is sought on the merits and determine whether the new evidence or argument requires modification of the prior decision.
(a) After OWCP decides to grant reconsideration, but before undertaking the review, OWCP will send a copy of the reconsideration application to the employer, which will have 20 days from the date sent to comment or submit relevant documents. OWCP will provide any such comments to the employee, who will have 20 days from the date the comments are sent to him or her within which to comment. If no comments are received from the employer, OWCP will proceed with the merit review of the case. Where a reconsideration request pertains only to a medical issue (such as disability or a schedule award) not requiring comment from the employing agency, the employing agency will be notified that a request for reconsideration has been received, but OWCP is not required to wait 20 days for comment before reaching a determination, except when that claimant is deployed in an area of armed conflict.
(b) A claims examiner who did not participate in making the contested decision will conduct the merit review of the claim. When all evidence has been reviewed, OWCP will issue a new merit decision, based on all the evidence in the record. A copy of the decision will be provided to the agency.
(c) An employee dissatisfied with this new merit decision may again request reconsideration under this subpart or appeal to the ECAB. An employee may not request a hearing on this decision.
The FECA specifies that an award for or against payment of compensation may be reviewed at any time on the Director's own motion. Such review may be made without regard to whether there is new evidence or information. If the Director determines that a review of the award is warranted (including, but not limited to circumstances indicating a mistake of fact or law or changed conditions), the Director (at any time and on the basis of existing evidence) may modify, rescind, decrease or increase compensation previously awarded, or award compensation previously denied. A review on the Director's own motion is not subject to a request or petition and none shall be entertained.
(a) The decision whether or not to review an award under this section is solely within the discretion of the Director. The Director's exercise of this discretion is not subject to review by the ECAB, nor can it be the subject of a reconsideration or hearing request.
(b) Where the Director reviews an award on his or her own motion, any resulting decision is subject as appropriate to reconsideration, a hearing and/or appeal to the ECAB. Jurisdiction on review or on appeal to ECAB is limited to a review of the merits of the resulting decision. The Director's determination to review the award is not reviewable.