Illness excuses delay in appeal; dismissal of appeal; damages awarded for improper termination timing.

The Supreme Court partially allowed the cassation appeal, overturning the lower court's dismissal of the employee's appeal against termination. The court found that the employee's illness from January to March 1997 constituted a non-faulty delay in filing the appeal within the statutory period. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as untimely, but the employer was ordered to pay damages for the improper timing of the termination notice.