Galligan v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services

**Galligan v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services** This case involved Ms. Galligan, who worked at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and filed a workers' compensation claim. When her claim was initially denied, she tried to appeal the decision. However, the Compensation Review Board dismissed her appeal, saying she filed it too late and missed the deadline. Ms. Galligan argued that officials at the Department of Employment Services (DOES) gave her incorrect information about when she needed to file her appeal, which caused her to miss the deadline. She claimed their misleading guidance prevented her from properly appealing within the required timeframe. The court agreed with Ms. Galligan and sent the case back to the Compensation Review Board. The court ruled that the Board needed to take another look at whether DOES officials actually misled her about the filing deadline before dismissing her appeal. **What this means for workers:** This decision protects workers who receive wrong information from government officials about important deadlines. If you rely on incorrect guidance from employment agencies and miss a deadline because of it, you may still have options to pursue your case. Always try to get important deadline information in writing when possible.