(a) Date of receipt.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a notice of appeal is considered to have been filed only as of the date it is received in the office of the Clerk of the Board.
(2) Notices of appeal submitted to any other agency or subdivision of the Department of Labor or of the U.S. Government or any State government shall be promptly forwarded to the office of the Clerk of the Board. The notice shall be considered filed with the Clerk of the Board as of the date it was received by the other governmental unit if the Board finds that it is in the interest of justice to do so.
(b) Date of mailing. If the notice of appeal is sent by mail and the fixing of the date of delivery as the date of filing would result in a loss or impairment of appeal rights, it will be considered to have been filed as of the date of mailing. The date appearing on the U.S. Postal Service postmark (when available and legible) shall be prima facie evidence of the date of mailing. If there is no such postmark or it is not legible, other evidence, such as, but not limited to, certified mail receipts, certificate of service and affidavits, may be used to establish the mailing date.