Supreme Court Considers Furloughed Pentagon Employee’s Long-Delayed Claim

Several justices wondered why the government has been fighting a $3,000 claim for so long, so hard.

Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, and Neil Gorsuch in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 1, 2017. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Supreme Court seemed sympathetic on March 25 to the argument of a furloughed U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) employee who waited five years for an understaffed government board to decide on his compensation claim.

The employee argued that his case, which has dragged on for 11 years, should be allowed even though his claim missed a filing deadline.