Holland v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY

**What Happened** Holland, a Union Pacific Railroad employee, filed a discrimination complaint claiming the company failed to accommodate his needs and treated him unfairly. However, he missed the legal deadline for filing his complaint with the state agency (DFEH). The railroad company argued his case should be thrown out because it was filed too late. Holland claimed he missed the deadline because a DFEH representative gave him incorrect advice about when he needed to file. **What the Court Decided** The appeals court sided with Holland and sent the case back to the lower court for a full trial. The court found that Holland could proceed with his lawsuit even though he filed late, because he reasonably relied on bad advice from the government agency. The court also ruled that evidence showing Holland's conversations with the DFEH representative should have been allowed in court. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling protects workers who miss filing deadlines because they received wrong information from government agencies. If you're told incorrect information by an official representative and reasonably rely on that advice, you may still be able to pursue your discrimination case even if you file late. However, workers should still try to file complaints as quickly as possible and get advice in writing when dealing with government agencies.