Employees' Compensation U.S. Department of Labor Members of the Board: E. Gerald Lamboley, Chairman Michele von Kelsch, Alternate Member October 1, 1982-September 30, 1983 Volume 34-Book I (Cite as 34 ECAB) For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office UNITED STA STATES Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, without permission of the Federal Government. Source credit is requested but not required. Permission is required only to reproduce any copyrighted material contained herein. Joc. -28.91 34/ble. 1 ། BOOK STACKS PREFACE The Employees' Compensation Appeals Board began functioning in the later part of 1946 as a three-member, quasi-judicial body established within the Federal Security Agency in accordance with the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1946, effective July 16, 1946. Reorganization Plan No. 19 of 1950, effective May 24, 1950, provided for the transfer of the Board and its functions to the Department of Labor, and the transfer to the Secretary of Labor of the functions of Federal Security Administrator with respect to the Board. The Board has authority to hear and, subject to applicable law, make final decisions on appeals taken from determinations and awards with respect to claims of employees of the Federal Government arising out of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act of 1916, as amended and extended.1 The Board's jurisdiction is strictly appellate in nature and extends to questions of law and fact and to questions concerning the exercise of discretion. The review is made upon the case record. New evidence is neither received nor considered by the Board. The administration of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act is the responsibility of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs which prior to July 2, 1974 was known as the Office of Federal Employees' Compensation.2 The decisions reported in this volume were issued within the period from October 1, 1982 to September 30, 1983. During the past year the Board has had a very large number of appeals. The decisions of the Board with respect to the routine cases were not included in the volume; only those having a precedential value were included. Likewise, most of the Board's orders (decisions issued without opinions) were excluded. The majority of these orders set aside the decision of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs in the particular case and remanded it, either on the Board's own initiative or on motion of the Office, to correct legal or procedural error or for further development from an evidentiary standpoint. During the year covered by this volume of the Board's decisions, 54 1 Title 5, United States Code, section 8101 et seq. With respect to employees of the District of Columbia Government, effective May 3, 1979, all functions previously performed by the Secretary of Labor and the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, 5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq., were transferred to the Mayor of the District of Columbia. This transfer, which became effective May 3, 1979, resulted by virtue of the provisions of Section 204(e) of the District of Columbia Self-Government Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 783; D.C. Code, Sec. 36-504; Public Law 93-198, and Section 2346 of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, D.C. Law 2-139. 2 In the case of employees of the Canal Zone Government and of the Panama Canal Company, the administrator was the Governor of the Canal Zone. However, effective October 4, 1979, Title 5, United States Code 8101 et seq. became inapplicable to any individual (1) who is not a citizen of the United States, (2) whose initial appointment by the Commission occurs after October 1, 1979; and (3) who is covered by the Social Security System of the Republic of Panama pursuant to any provision of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements. Sec. 1209(a), P.L. 96-70; 93 Stat. 463. iii percent of the actions of the Board resulted in remands, primarily for further development of the case record and a de novo decision. The practice of adding headnotes to each decision commenced with Volume 16. The headnotes are not part of the Board's decision and are not to be regarded as adding to or modifying the result or text of the decision in any manner. They are intended merely as a tool, similar to an index, to assist in the use of the volume. Docket ACOSTA, Armando O. and Department of the Air Force, Kelley Air ADAMS, John P. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Allen Steam ADAMS, Odeen Wilson and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, AGUDO, Elena C., claiming as widow of AGUDO, Vicente V. and ALFANO, Daniel J. and Department of the Navy, Mare Island Naval ANGELES, Frank T. and Veterans Administration, Nursing Service, Long Beach, CA . 82-2037 302 ANGELINI, Albert and Department of the Navy, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA .. 82-398 270 ANISE-LEVINE, Zahra Musa and Department of Defense, Defense ANTAL, Joseph A. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Reve- ATKINS, Jeffrey, claiming as Executor of the Estate of ATKINS, ANTOINE, Harold A. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Sta- BAKER, Elmer L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Station, 82-2152 384 BARGE, Frank Ellsworth and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, BARHAM, Theron J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, BARNES, Anthony and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Galves- BARNES, Helen L. and Veterans Administration, Veterans Adminis- BARTOLUCCI, Gary J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Spring- BEALS, Nelson and Department of the Navy, Long Beach Naval BEEBE, Edward M. and Veterans Administration, Veterans Ad- BELANGER, William J. and U.S. Department of Labor, Employ- BELL, Merria L. and Veterans Administration, Veterans Adminis- BELLO, Armando and Department of the Navy, New York Naval 83-1072 1739 1 Docket numbers are assigned on a fiscal year basis. Thus 83-1 was the first case filed in fiscal year 83, which com- V |