Dumaw v. U.S. Department of Labor

**What Happened** Dumaw, an employee, filed a complaint against the U.S. Department of Labor but missed an important deadline. Under federal regulations, workers have only ten business days to file certain employment-related appeals. Dumaw filed their appeal after this deadline passed and asked the court to excuse the late filing due to what they claimed were extraordinary circumstances that prevented them from meeting the deadline. **What the Court Decided** The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Department of Labor and dismissed Dumaw's case. The court ruled that Dumaw had not shown truly extraordinary circumstances that would justify accepting a late filing. The court upheld the strict ten-business day deadline and refused to make an exception in this case. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling emphasizes how critical it is for workers to meet filing deadlines in employment disputes. Courts will only excuse late filings in very rare situations with truly exceptional circumstances. Workers facing employment issues should act quickly and seek help immediately to ensure they don't miss these short deadlines, as missing them can mean losing the right to pursue their case entirely, regardless of how strong their underlying claims might be.