Georgetown University v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services

**Georgetown University v. D.C. Department of Employment Services** This case involved a Georgetown University employee named Owens who was injured at work but failed to report her injury to her employer within the required time limit. When she later filed for workers' compensation benefits, an administrative law judge denied her claim because she gave notice too late. However, the D.C. Department of Employment Services reversed that decision, ruling in Owens' favor. Georgetown University challenged this reversal in court. The court sided with Georgetown, agreeing that Owens had indeed failed to provide timely notice of her workplace injury as required by law. However, instead of ending the case there, the court sent it back to the employment services agency to determine a specific question: whether Owens could still recover money for medical expenses related to her injury, even though she missed the notice deadline. **What this means for workers:** This case highlights how critical it is to report workplace injuries promptly to your employer. Missing notice deadlines can jeopardize your entire workers' compensation claim. However, it also shows that even when you miss deadlines, you might still have some options for recovering certain costs like medical bills. The exact rules vary, so always report injuries as soon as possible.