July 8, 2019

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated a decision by the D.C. Department of Employment Service's Compensation Review Board that a woman who was injured at work while on a break was not eligible for compensation because her injuries did not arise out of her employment. Gaines v. D. C. Dep't of Emp't Servs., No. 17-AA-1403, 2019 D.C. App. LEXIS 246 (June 27, 2019).

The injured worker was a rail station manager named Lemakia Gaines. She was scheduled to work a swing shift for the transit authority. After her first shift ended, she had a two-hour unpaid break before her second shift started. Her plan was to take her break and eat a meal in the employee-only auxiliary room, accessible only with a master key that was issued to station managers and employees.