Section 501.3 (f)(i): Comment from Sylvia Johnson, Administrative Law Representative

Regarding: Date of filing requirements have been moved from Section 501.3(d)(3) to paragraph (f) and include more extensive discussion of these requirements to assist Appellants. The new language in (f)(i) replaces language currently found in 501.10(c) by acknowledging that commercial delivery services may be used by Appellants in place of the U.S. Mail Service, but only the date of receipt by the Clerk will then be used to determine timeliness. If, however, the U.S. Mail Service is used, the Board will continue to look to the date of mailing to establish timeliness if the date of receipt by the Clerk would make the appeal untimely COMMENT: Commercial delivery of the appeal is accepted but for purposes of filing date there is a discrepancy between the commercial carrier and the US mail (United States Postal Service, USPS). Some commercial carriers provide very explicit tracking which includes date received by the carrier and a listing of where the package is currently. Why the need for discrepancy between USPS and Commercial carriers? It appears to be unnecessary detriment to appellants when they can present proof to be weighed by the Board which may be equal to the USPS proof.