Galarza v. Department of Labor

Defendant, the Illinois Department of Labor, appeals the judgment of the circuit court of McHenry County on administrative review, which reversed the decision of defendant’s Board of Review (board) that plaintiff was ineligible for unemployment benefits. On appeal, defendant argues that plaintiff failed to file a timely appeal from the referee’s decision and that the trial court erroneously determined that plaintiff conducted an adequate work search.

Plaintiff, Estella Galarza, is a migrant farm worker. In March 1982, she was employed at Twin Garden Farms near Harvard, Illinois. She had worked…