Crosby v. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co.

624 F. Supp. 487, 39 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1271, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12182, 39 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 36,022
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedDecember 31, 1985
DocketCiv. A. No. 83-0354-K
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 624 F. Supp. 487 (Crosby v. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crosby v. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co., 624 F. Supp. 487, 39 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1271, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12182, 39 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 36,022 (D. Mass. 1985).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

KEETON, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a career employee of defendant, applied for and was granted, effective February 12, 1982, a Company Service Pension at age 62. In 1983, he filed this action under the Age Discrimination in Employ[488]*488ment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621, et seq., alleging that but for defendant’s engaging in practices prohibited by 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1) and (a)(2) he would have remained an active employee until his 65th birthday, October 14,1984. With the objective of aiding the parties in determining whether the case can be settled, the court invited memoranda of law on the applicable measure of recovery in the event plaintiff prevails. After further conferences in July and August, the submissions are now before the court for determination of one of the principal issues in dispute.

I.

Plaintiff seeks an award of back pay pursuant to the following provisions of the Act:

Amounts owing to a person as a result of a violation of this chapter shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation for purposes of sections 216 and 217 of this title: Provided, That liquidated damages shall be payable only in cases of willful violations of this chapter. In any action brought to enforce this chapter the court shall have jurisdiction to grant such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including without limitation judgments compelling employment, reinstatement or promotion, or enforcing the liability for amounts deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under this section.

29 U.S.C. § 626(b). The references to “unpaid minimum wages” and “unpaid overtime compensation” have been construed to allow aggrieved employees to recover “lost wages.” Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 579, 98 S.Ct. 866, 869, 55 L.Ed.2d 40 (1978).

As I understand the contentions of the parties, further clarified in written submissions and conferences, the contrasting ways that plaintiff and defendant propose to calculate the award, should plaintiff succeed on his basic claim under ADEA, are shown in the following table:

Foregone Compensation to Age 65 Plaintiffs Defendant’! Calculation Calculador

1. Foregone Wages (age 62 to age 65) $78,900.00 $78,900.00

2. Less Pension Payments Plaintiff Received (age 62 to age 65) 26,792.50 26.792.50

3. $52,107.50 $52,107.50

4. Less Social Security Benefit Payments Plaintiff Received (age 62 to age 65) 0 34.284.50

5. $52,107.50 $17,823.00

6. Less Any Deduction Incident to Plaintiff’s Obligation to Mitigate His Damages 0 to be determined

7. Proposed Award for Foregone Compensation to Age 65 $52,107.50 to be determined

Foregone Future Compensation:

8. Plaintiff’s Current Monthly Pension $ 886.19 $ 886.19

9. Plaintiffs Monthly Pension Had He Not Retired Until Age 65 995.67 995.67

10. Monthly Difference $ 109.48 $ 109.48

11. Present Value of Monthly Difference for Life Expectancy $ 8,000.00 $ 8,000.00

[489]*489Plaintiff’s Foregone Future Compensation: Calculation Defendant’s Calculation

12. Present Value of Difference in Wife’s Monthly Survivor Annuity $ 900.00 $ 900.00

Total $ 8,900.00 $ 8,900.00

13. Proposed Award for Foregone Future Compensation 8,900.00 8,900.00

TOTAL AWARD $61,007.50 to be determined (not more than $26,723.00)

II.

The central issue addressed by the memoranda of the parties concerns line 4 of the calculations recited above, relating to the social security benefits received by the plaintiff up to age 65.

Defendant calls attention to the fact that they were exceptionally high in this instance because, during part or all (the submissions are not clear as to which) of this period plaintiff had a minor child and therefore received some amount (not made clear) in addition to his normal retirement benefit, which he would never have received had he retired at age 65.

Both the normal benefit and the addition by reason of minority of a child are benefits that plaintiff would not have received but for his early retirement. If these benefits are not deducted in calculating the ADEA award, he receives more than compensation for his loss from “unpaid wages” and — absent assumptions of economic loss in some other way not disclosed by evidence — more than enough to restore him to the economic position he would have occupied if defendant’s alleged violations of ADEA had not occurred. Should part or all of the $34,284.50 in social security benefits received between ages 62 and 65 be deducted in calculating an ADEA award to plaintiff if it is determined that plaintiff is entitled to such an award?

The First Circuit has not answered this question, nor has it ruled upon any closely analogous question. Decisions of other circuits that are arguably in point or closely analogous include several conflicting strands of authority.

The Third Circuit has held that as a rule of law and not as a matter of discretion, neither social security benefits nor unemployment benefits should be deducted. E.g., Maxfield v. Sinclair International, 766 F.2d 788, 793-95 (3d Cir.1985) (social security benefits are collateral and should not be deducted from an ADEA back pay award); McDowell v. Avtex Fibers, Inc., 740 F.2d 214, 215-17 (3d Cir.1984), vacated and remanded on other grounds, — U.S. -, 105 S.Ct. 1159, 84 L.Ed.2d 312 (1985) (unemployment benefits may not be deducted from an ADEA back pay award).

One may also read decisions of the Fourth and Sixth Circuits as supporting a firm rule of law against deduction of benefits such as social security and unemployment compensation. See Rasimas v. Michigan Dept. of Mental Health, 714 F.2d 614, 627 (6th Cir.1983) (“unemployment compensation also should not be deducted from [Title VII] backpay awards”), and EEOC v. Ford Motor Co., 645 F.2d 183, 195-96 (4th Cir.1981) (back pay awards under Title VII should not be affected by unemployment compensation, citing Abron v. Black & Decker Manufacturing Co., 439 F.Supp. 1095, 1115 (D.Md.1977), aff'd in part and vacated in part, 654 F.2d 951 (4th Cir. 1981)). In one case presented for decision shortly after the Third Circuit adopted a like rule for Title VII cases, I applied that rule in a Title VII sex discrimination context, relying on the weight of authority at that time. Ryan v. Raytheon, 601 F.Supp. 243, 254 (D.Mass.1985), citing Craig v. Y & Y Snacks, Inc.,

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624 F. Supp. 487, 39 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1271, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12182, 39 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 36,022, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crosby-v-new-england-telephone-telegraph-co-mad-1985.