Thompson v. Commissioner

89 T.C. No. 44, 89 T.C. 632, 1987 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 134, 44 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1457
United States Tax Court·Decided September 21, 1987·No. Docket No. 36665-85·Published·Cited by 36 cases

Opinion

SCOTT, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner’s Federal individual income tax for 1982 in the amount of $31,339.85. By amendment to petition filed January 9, 1987, petitioner seeks a refund of a portion of the taxes paid. The issues for decision are: (1) Whether a back pay award in the amount of $66,795.19, received by petitioner pursuant to the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. sec. 206(d) (1976) (Equal Pay Act), and tit. VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e-2, et seq. (tit. VII), in a suit against the Public Printer is excludable from income under section 104(a)(2)1 as “damages received for personal injuries”; and (2) whether an award of liquidated damages in the amount of $66,135.27 received by petitioner pursuant to the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. sec. 216(b), as a result of this suit is excludable from income under section 104(a)(2) as damages received for personal injuries.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.

Petitioner, who resided in Alexandria, Virginia, at the time of the filing of her petition in this case, filed an individual income tax return for the calendar year 1982.

Petitioner has been an employee of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) since 1965. From 1965 through 1981, she was employed at the GPO as a Wage Board Grade 4 Journeyman Bindery Worker Smyth Sewing Machine Operator. f

Petitioner was the lead plaintiff in a class action sex discrimination claim filed against her employer, the Public Printer as head of the GPO, on May 25, 1973. During calendar year 1982, the GPO was found, in Thompson v. Sawyer, 678 F.2d 257 (D.C. Cir. 1982), affg. in part and revg. in part Thompson v. Boyle, 499 F. Supp. 1147 (D. D.C. 1979), to have discriminated against petitioner in violation of tit. VII and the Equal Pay Act by failing to pay petitioner the same wage paid to certain males for work the performance of which required skill, effort, and responsibility substantially equal to that required for jobs performed by such males. In the complaint, the following allegations were made-

ill. Parties
3. Plaintiff Thompson is a citizen of the United States and a resident of Hyattsville, Maryland. Plaintiff Thompson is currently employed as a Wage Board Grade 4 Journeyman Bindery Worker in the Binding Division of the GPO. She has been employed in the Binding Division since October 1965.
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8. The GPO is a unit of the legislative branch of the Federal Government having positions in the competitive service within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. section 2000e-16(a) and section 6 of Executive Order 11478. Defendant Thomas F. McCormick is the Public Printer of the United States and is named as Defendant in his official capacity as head of the GPO as prescribed in 42 U.S.C. section 2000e-16(c) and Section 2 of Executive Order 11478.
IV. Class Action Allegations
9. The named Plaintiffs bring this action on their own behalf and on behalf of all other female Journeyman Bindery Workers in the Binding Division of the Production Department of the GPO, pursuant to Rule 23(a) and 23(b)(2)-(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rule 1-13.
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VI. Statement of Claims
26. It is the contention and belief of Plaintiffs that Defendant is engaged in a widespread consistent pattern and practice of sex discrimination throughout the Production Department of the GPO, which discrimination has resulted and continues to result in female employees in the Production Department being kept in lower paying positions, being denied advancement opportunities, and in some instances being prevented from receiving pay and advancement opportunities equivalent to those received by males who perform comparable work. * * *
A. Introduction: General Description of Patterns and Practices of Sex Discrimination in Production Department
27. On information and belief, there are approximately 8,000 employees in the GPO, 3,977 of whom work in the Production Department. Except for management positions, jobs in the Production Department are basically classified in two categories, craft and noncraft. Employees who are classified as “craftsmen” generally perform jobs which are recognized in the printing industry as skilled trades or crafts, and employees who are classified as “noncraftsmen” generally perform unskilled, semi-skilled, or skilled manual labor. Craftsmen in the Production Department receive wages substantially higher than those received by noncraftsmen, and only craftsmen are entitled to compete for supervisory training and Printing Specialist positions. Currently, 2,015 of the 3,977 employees in the Production Department are classified as craftsmen. Another 285 employees in the Production Department hold management supervisory positions, including foreman, assistant foreman and group chief positions.
28. Females hold only 558 of the 3,977 positions in the Production Department. No females in the Production Department hold management supervisory positions. And only 35 of the 558 females employed in the Production Department hold craft positions. * * *
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32. As indicated by Table I, supra, 455 of the 558 females employed in the Production Department are assigned to the Binding Division, and, as indicated by Table II, none of the 455 females in the Binding Division hold craft positions. * * *
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33. Most of the 279 males in the Binding Division classified as craft Bookbinders are machine operators who operate the various machines in the Binding Division that are necessary in the' bookbinding operation. In addition, a number of the craft Bookbinders perform some of the handwork that is necessary in the bookbinding operation, including book repair, indexing, and tablet making. All Bookbinders are paid $7.51 per hour (compared with wages ranging from $5.29 to $5.92 per hour paid Journeyman Binder Workers — see Table IV, infra), and are eligible to compete for supervisory training and Printing Specialist positions. * * *
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(b) Claim. I: Discriminatory Classification of Bindery Worker Sewing Machine Operators
36.

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Thompson v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. No. 44, 89 T.C. 632, 1987 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 134, 44 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1457 (tax 1987).

89 T.C. No. 44 (Thompson v. Commissioner) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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