Amicus Curiae Brief — United States v. Burke
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09) | FILED
No. 91-42 DEC 23 199)
| In The OFFICE OF THE CLERK
Supreme Court of the United States
@ctuber Term, 19591
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Petitioner,
Vv.
THERESE A. BURKE, et ai.,
Respondents.
BRIEF OF WOMEN EMPLOYED, 9TO5,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN
AND CHICAGO LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL
RIGHTS UNDER LAW, INC. AS AMICI CURIAE
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS
Mary L. Mixva MIcnae- B. Erp
STEPHEN G. SELIGER Katz, FrrEDMAN, SCHUR
122 South Michigan Avenue & EaG ie, CuTp.
Suite 1850 7 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603 Suite 1700
(312) 427-4500 Chicago, Illinois 60603
R Les Camere (312) 263-6330
Hopkins & SuTTER Counsel of Record for the
Three First National Plaza Amici Curiae
Suite 4200
Chicago, Illinois 60602
(312) 558-4212
ARTHUR BENSON, III Mary K. O’MELVENY
BENSON & McKay COMMUNICATION WORKERS
1000 Walnut Street OF AMERICA
Suite 1125 501 3rd Street, N.W.
Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Suite 810
(816) 842-7603 Washington, D.C. 20001
Of Counsel (202) 434-1213
Of Counsel
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i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I snabnaeianeetenbianiitansdiavancinns li
EE NE I II ccccecsecnccnesusinberssteccsnssipsasoesersiee l
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .......... 2
iia oedema saaponanicbicmndegasnnets 4
l. Title VII Victims Have Suffered Personal
RMSE ERE TIE Se Re ADORE a eo 4
Il. There is No Basis for the Service's Distinction
Between “Physical” and “Nonphysical’”’ Injuries
Under §104(a)(2) Or Its Requirement that Victims
of Nonphysical Injuries Show that Their Recoveries
Constitute a “Return of Capital.” .............::ccccscceeeeeseeeeeees 6
III. The Service’s Interpretation of §104(a)(2) Unfairly
Discriminates Against Victims of Nonphysical
a eauiaicibowndtnsoosieeseone 14
IV. The Possibility that Plaintiffs’ Recovery Here Was
for “Work Performed” Provides No Basis for the Service's
Ne ET es BS Dn ee OO TE EOC DOP 19
URI Cahatitchaccamasebonciedvuedsnsiiivtinisiesevmerenenentensiotennssesncesorianes 22
il
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES:
Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36 (1974)............... 16
Anderson v. United States, 929 F.2d 648 (Fed. Cir. 1991)......... 12
Commissionerv.Glenshaw Glass Co.,
S48 U.S. 435 (IGG) .2.cccccerecesensccusvosassuussiie eee 10, il
Commissioner v. Jacobsen, 336 U.S. 28 (1949) ............................ 7
Downey v. Commissioner, 97 T.C. 150 (1991) ...................... 12,13
Doyle v. Mitchell Brothers Co., 247 U.S. 179 (1918) .................... 8
EEOC, et al. v. AT&T Technologies, Inc., No. 78 C 3951
and No. 82 C 1562 (BU DDTBB)..ccccoccscscsmneossesennn ee 18
Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U.S. 189 (1920) ......................-..--.... 10
Ford Motor Company v. EEOC, 458 U.S. 219 (1982) ................ 16
Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co., 482 U.S. 656 (1987) ..................... 5
Hodge v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 616 (1975)......... hieitaamomanat 13
Mallard v. U.S. District Court, 490 U.S. 296 (1989) ..................... 7
Metzger v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 834 (1987), aff'd
without published opinion, 845 F.2d 1013 (3d Cir. 1988)....... 12
McShane v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1987-151, 53 T.C.M. |
BUD (1B 7) ..000<ccccccsesesscececeseseeneenemsesuinssiesinlinnnnnnnnnnn 19
Nierotko v. Social Security Board, 149 F.2d 273
(6th Cir. 1945), aff'd, 327 U.S. 358 (1946)........................ 11,12
Norfolk & W. Ry. v. Liepelt, 444 U.S. 490 (1980)................ 6, 7,15
Pistillo v. Commissioner, 912 F.2d 145
(6th Cir. 1990), rev’g T.C. Memo 1989-329 (1989).................... 13
Redfield v. Insurance Company of North America,
be fot Yo s) |e 12, 13, 21
Rickel v. Commissioner, 900 F.2d 655 (3d Cir. 1990), aff'gin
part and reversing in part, 92 T.C. 510 (1989) .................. 13, 21
Roemer vu. Commissioner, 716 F.2d 693 (9th Cir. 1983) ............. 15
il
CASES:
Rowan Companies, Inc. v. United States,
a snneccccecceveccccscesecees 12
Royster Co. v. United States, 479 F.2d 387 (4th Cir. 1973)........ 12
Sparrow v. Commissioner, No. 90-1151
Nee oo. ccsncsssserececortecsecsncencess 14
Social Security Board v. Nierotko, 327 U.S. 358 (1946) ............. 11
Starrels v. Commissioner, 304 F.2d 574 (9th Cir. 1962)............. 11
Thompson v. Commissioner, 866 F.2d 709
as ccesccceseuscrceceveceess 13, 21
Threlkeld v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 1294 (1986),
9 12,13
United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc.,
Neen eee sesicersccesececscsecscorcncs
West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey,
I . ccccccncesccccccecscscccecscees 7
Wulf v. City of Wichita, 383 F.2d 842 (10th Cir. 1989).....0......... 13
.
iv
— ee noone , ‘ONGRESSIONAL MATERIALS
STATUTES, RULES AND REGULATIONS: CONGRESSIONAI
iv] i , Tj Tt _ » No. 767, 65th Con _ 2d Sess 9-10 (1915) J
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §2000e H.R. Rep No. 767, 60 ng
00 CGD conc csvcsscnssnesscsnesetoussacnsocerssoinnneinesondesccnssnamestnebenesnaneteent passim S Rep No. 617, 65th Cong., 3rd Sess. 29-90 | L915) :
Oe OB BG vnscics ccc nesdcccdnicccccsieencinsactchineiianaetons 1,5, 20 , _
’ MISCELLANEOUS:
int We ceeemneninnil 5 aS a -
: BLack’s LAW Dictionary 1335 (5th ed. 1979)
Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §1981A........ccccsceeseeseenees 16 on 1
=e ne setae oe ot a Solicitor’s Memorandum 1.54, - 71, 72, her: |
Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. §1981 2.0... eeee 2, 15 revoked by Solicitor’s Opinion 132. 1-1 C_B. 92, 94 (1922) '
Fair Labor Standards Act: aS 9CR 994 17
Revenue Ruling 40-464, 1QR0-2 ¢ B. 2
BD UBB... FID occovcccecesceccsosceccsssccesccssescosncvsevesonsenseseessnesesees 6, 20
SU BC BIE voi discninsinsitssissncasorsncanstsnnisinnipainicumnsenneennacatition 5
Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. §206(d).............:cceecetteeeeeee 21
Internal Revenue Cede:
Oe AEF, BD sicikstitaeesinesccscncsusincencensntetasincscesenncqnmeummmmnanacetl 10, 20
BUT BA, CI wisest civicnissscccencrecasecontsenseceneimiarenssamnnentis a
26 U.S.C. §104(a)(2)....... sideisewanieicdias abana passim
OT OO BI aainicsnecsininisnccnesevbcvodacnasoennbeanciavntnesnineoeaioninnanian 20)
BB U BBC. GIG ccccvecrccecccsccccsscsccsccossccescensvescascoescessesosesscesancssees 20
SI as: -icinithicscaatode a 17
DU Ba. GI veccccccscvesnseieesececcensnscccsscncsisecoscnsenseesenchensosnensen 17
26 U.S.C. §3102(b)
2 UBC. Baill ...:......::. hjunntunasiacatiansteiiaanaunueaadianenes 17
BEE BI ii iissianscncicceictenstanncencancramngiaanttsiniieannandannine 17
DE UBB. FOB wcnesserecesecsccsccssvsesesevesconcscccsenseenssonsccesoncssvoseeses 17
BU I van secession ens cncecacinesesveesnenccncessessipeonaserestonveediesnn 18
OTT, CI ivisssiinsivsiccccctinscsetesreincermnsvrccmmasenenncnesennanatsant 18
i ikea 5,14
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure |
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 2 ...............:cccccceeeeseeeeeeeeeteeeeenenes 14
No. 91-42
In Che
Supreme Court of the United States
@ctober Cerm, 19591
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Petitioner,
Vv.
THERESE A. BURKE, et ai.,
Respondents.
BRIEF OF WOMEN EMPLOYED, 9TO5,
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN
AND CHICAGO LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL
RIGHTS UNDER LAW, INC. AS AMICI CURIAE
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE
Women Employed is a membership association of 2,000
women at all employment levels. It conducts innovative research,
education and advocacy programs designed to improve women’s
economic status. Since its founding in 1973, the organization
has achieved national recognition for its efforts to increase
employment opportunities for women by advocating improved
equal opportunity policies and greater access to vocational
education and job training systems, and by developing model
programs to enable disadvantaged women to become econom-
ically self-sufficient.
9to5, National Association of Working Women, is a voluntary
association with more than 15,000 members nationwide. It is
the preeminent membership organization for the nation’s 20
million office workers. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with
offices on the east and west coasts, chapters in twenty-six states,
and members in all states, it works toward the eradication of
2
per ner ee
en ee based on sex, race, age, color, religion, disability
onal origin, ancestry, or sexual preference. |
is poner wo dad Committee for Civil Rights Under
ei wyers ommittee ) was founded in 1969 by major
ago aw firms to involve private attorneys in the effort to
= the civil rights of all persons in the metropolitan area.
Hse: inception, the Lawyers’ Committee has enlisted the pro
- Me egal services of many hundreds of attorneys in addressing
re egal problems of members of minority groups, women, the
disadvantaged, and the poor in employment, housing educatic
the administration of justice, voting, and law enforcement
Of particular concern to the amici and their members is the
full recovery of compensation permitted by law for the victims
of discrimination. Amici have devoted substantial energy aes
resources to the protection of remedies available to persons wh
have suffered discrimination. Those efforts have included
£
fil £
Amici believe the decision of the court of appeals is correct
and submit this brief to assist ;
pee o assist the Court in resolution of the
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
, page 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”’)
26 U.S.C. §104(a)(2), excludes from the definition of gross income
“the amount of any damages received on account of personal]
injuries.” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 42 U.S.C
§2000e, et seg. (“Title VII”), makes it unlawful to discriminate
in respect to employment, on the basis of race, sex or national
a Application of §104(a)(2) to Title VII recoveries is, on its
a quite straightforward: The discrimination outlawed by Title
| invades a plaintiff's right to be free of such invidious
discrimination and is a “personal” injury. Title VII is an
antidiscrimination law, net a backpay provision: backpay is
simply an enforcement tool under that statutory acheme. Thus
' The parties’ letters of consent
: , pursuant to Rule 37 of th
this Court, have been filed with the Clerk. on
3
any damages received on account of an injury under Title VII
should be excluded by §104(a)(2).
To avoid this result, however, the Internal Revenue Service
(“the Service”) urges this Court to use the case before it to create,
within the §104(a)(2) tax exclusion, a tortured and untenable
distinction between “physical” and “nonphysical” injuries. As
to physical injuries, the Service is willing to give §104(a)(2) its
clear and obvious meaning of excluding “any damages”; however,
as to onphysical” injuries, the Service would graft onto
§104(a)(2) an additional “burden” on the taxpayer “of establishing
that the recovery is reimbursement for a prior loss of personal
capital and does not represent a gain or profit that instead adds
to her wealth.” (Citations omitted). Petitioner's Brief at 14-15.
The Service’s attempt to rewrite the Code must be rejected.
There is no support in §104(a)(2) for a two-tiered physical
nonphysical injury distinction, in which the victim of a non-
physical injury must shoulder such an additional burden to gain
the benefit of the §104(a)(2) exemption. Moreover, there is no basis
in $104(a)(2) for a limitation of this exclusion to what the Service
terms a “return” of personal “capital” The Service's approach
to §104(a)(2) should be rejected by this Court, as it has been by
the vast majority of courts of appeals and by the Tax Court.
The Service’s distinction also creates an unfair relative tax
disadvantage for victims of nonphysical, as opposed to physical,
injuries. Such different treatment for victims of nonphysical
personal injuries, including discrimination under Title VII,
furthers no Congressional purpose, has no basis in tax or civil
rights policy and complicates and discourages settlement of
discrimination cases — a result directly contrary to Congress’
intent in enacting Title VII.
Finally, amici urge this Court to decline the Service's
invitation to use this case, in which the Service argues plaintiffs
are receiving additional payment for “work already performed,”
Petitioner’s Brief at 18-20, to create a wholesale emasculation
of the §104(a)(2) tax exclusion. Amici agree with the court of
appeals in this case that plaintiffs were entitled to the benefit
of the §104(a)(2) exclusion. However, if this Court should reverse
the decision below, amici ask this Court to recognize that many
4
Title VII victims do not, in any sense, receive pay for work already
performed. Amici respectfully submit that any holding in favor
of Petitioner in this case should be carefully limited to differential
pay situations.
ARGUMENT
I. Title VII Victims Have Suffered Personal Injuries.
If this Court simply applies the language of the §104(a)(2)
exclusion to the case before it, rather than accepting the Service's
approach, application of §104(a)(2) to Title VII generally, as well
as this case, is quite straightforward.
Section 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code excludes from
gross income, with certain specific limitations that are not
relevant here,” the following:
the amount of any damages received (whether by suit
or agreement and whether as lump sums or as periodic
payments) on account of personal injuries or sickness.
26 U.S.C. §104(a)(2).
Title VII makes unlawful various forms of discrimination,
including:
to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual,
or otherwise to discriminate against any individual
with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions,
or privileges of employment, because of such individ-
ual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
42 U.S.C. §2000e-2.
The applicable Treasury Regulation provides that, under
§104(ap(2):
The term “damages received (whether by suit or
agreement)” means an amount received (other than
workmen’s compensation) through prosecution of a
- These limitations are for amounts attributable to medical expense
deductions and for punitive damages. 26 USC. §104(a).
5
legal suit or action based upon tort or tort type rights,
or through a settlement agreement entered into in lieu
of such prosecution.
26 C.F.R. §1.104-1(e).
Thus, the question before the Court is simply whether
discrimination, such as that outlawed by Title VII, is a “personal
injury” that is in the nature of a personal tort. A tort is “a legal
wrong committed upon the person or property independent of
contract” such as “a direct invasion of some legal right of the
individual.” BLack’s Law Dictionary 1335 (Sth ed. 1979).
A violation of Title VII is clearly a torttype wrong and illegal
discrimination is very much a “personal” injury. The duty not
to discriminate arises independently of any contractual relation-
ship the parties may have. Indeed, Title VII expressly extends
to situations in which the parties have no contractual relation-
ship, such as where an employer refuses to hire on the basis
of race, sex, religion or national origin. 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2.
This Court has recognized, even in reference to 42 U.S.C.
$1981, which refers specifically to the right to “make and enforce
contracts,” that such federal laws, outlawing racial discrimina-
tion, create a personal injury claim. This Court has described
discrimination as a “fundamental injury to the individual rights
of a person.” Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co., 482 U.S. 656, 662
(1987). In that case, the Court incorporated the statute of
limitations for personal injury claims as the most appropriate
statute for §1981 actions. As this Court noted in Goodman:
That §1981 has far-reaching economic consequences
does not change the conclusion, since such impact
flows from guaranteeing the personal right to engage
in economically significant activity free from racially
discriminatory interference.
482 U.S. at 661-662.
Title VII is, like §1981, an antidiscrimination statute. Title
VII is not, in any sense, a backpay statute. Backpay is one of
many potential remedies provided by Congress to promote Title
VII enforcement. See 42 U.S.C. §2000e-5(g). Title VII does not,
6
however, regulate the pay an employer provides. Cf. 29 U.S.C.
§§206 and 207 (fair Labor Standards Act requiring minimum
wage and overtime payments). What Title VII prohibits is
discrimination, which strikes at the very personhood of its targets,
and constitutes a very real and very “personal” injury for its
victims.
In short, the amount Title VII plaintiffs receive because they
suffer discrimination is undeniably money received “on account
of personal injuries.” Therefore, §104(a)(2) operates to exclude
this recovery from the victim’s income.
Il. There is No Basis for the Service’s Distinction
Between “Physical”’ and ‘“‘Nonphysical” Injuries
Under §104(a)(2) Or Its Requirement that Victims of
Nonphysical Injuries Show that Their Recoveries
Constitute a “Return of Capital.”
In order to avoid a straightforward application of §104(a)(2)
to Title VII, the Service asks this Court to adopt and apply the
following test to victims of “nonphysical” personal injuries:
For Section 104(a)(2) to be applicable to a recovery
involving a nonphysical injury to personal rights, the
taxpayer ... has the burden of establishing that the
recovery is reimbursement for a prior loss of personal
capital and does not represent gain or profit that
instead adds to her wealth.
Petitioner’s Brief at 14-15 (citations omitted).
The Service recognizes, however, as this Court has also
acknowledged, that, as to victims of physical injuries, lost income
recoveries are excluded from income by §104(a)(2). Petitioner's
Brief at 21-22, n.16. See Norfolk & W. Ry. v. Liepelt, 444 US.
490, 496-98 (1980). (Lost future income recovered in a wrongful
death case excluded by §104(a)(2).) There is no legal or logical
basis for treating victims of nonp/ysical injuries any differently
or for imposing upon them the additional burden of showing
that their recovery is a “return of capital.”
Nothing in the language of §104(a)(2) supports a two-tiered
approach for victims of physical and nonphysical personal
7
injuries. Indeed, the absence of any such distinction in §104(a)(2)
is underscored by the fact that, in 1989, Congress amended §104(a)
to provide that Section (a)(2) “not apply to any punitive damages
in connection with a case not involving physical injury or
physical sickness.” Pub.L. 101-239, §7641(a), 103 Stat. 2379
(1989)\(codified, as amended, at 26 U.S.C. §104(a)). The 1989
amendment, in adding a specific distinction relating to punitive
damages received for nonphysical personal injuries, makes clear
that there is not, and never has been, any general distinction
between “physical” and “nonphysical” personal injuries under
§104(a)(2).
Petitioner argues that exclusions from income “are to be
construed narrowly.” Petitioner’s Brief at 21. Strict construction
cannot, however, provide a basis for rewriting tax exemptions.
Exemptions to the Internal Revenue Code are “specifically stated
and should be construed with restraint in light of the same policy.”
Commissioner v. Jacobsen, 336 U.S. 28, 49 (1949). As with any
statute, interpretation “must begin with the statute’s language.”
Mallard v. U.S. District Court, 490 U.S. 296, 300 (1989). The plain
meaning of such language is generally conclusive. United States
v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 242 (1989). See also
West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey, __ U.S.
111 S.Ct. 1138, 1148 (1991). In Norfoik & W. Ry. vu. Liepelt, 444
U.S. at 498, this Court viewed the language of §104(a)(2) to be
“perfectly clear” in excluding from taxation damages for lost
future income recovered in a wrongful death case. Nothing in
the statutory language suggests a different rule for lost income
caused by race or sex discrimination or other “nonphysical”
injuries.
Absent support in the statutory language, the Service
attempts to extract support for its “return of capital” theory from
the underlying legislative intent. There is no support for this
theory in the legislative history. Even if there were, the Service
offers no support for its argument that a damage recovery for
nonphysical injury must satisty a return of capital standard in
order to be described in $1()4:an2), while a damage recovery for
physical injury need not.
To begin with, the Service says | Petitioner's Brief at 10) that
the original purpose of the statutory exclusion for personal injury
8
damages was to “implement” the 1918 decision in Doyle v.
Mitchell Brothers Co., 247 U.S. 179 (1918). Yet the committee
reports contain no reference to this case, nor do they contain
a shred of other evidence to back up the assertion made in the
Service's brief. H.R. Rep No. 767, 65th Cong., 2d Sess. 9-10 ( 1918);
5S. Rep No. 617, 65th Cong., 3rd Sess. 29-30 (1918). The issue
in the Mitchell Brothers case was whether a lumber company’s
tax basis in its uncut timber was the timber’s original cost, or
its value as of the effective date of the tax act in question (the
Corporation Tax Act of 1909). There is no reason in the legislative
history, or in logic, for this Court to infer any connection
whatsoever between Mitchell Brothers and the statutory exclu-
sion of personal injury damages.
The 1918 committee reports do not say that, under the
preexisting statute, personal injury damages were clearly taxed,
or Clearly not taxed (in which case there would have been no
reason for the enactment). The reports say, without explanation,
that taxation under the existing statute was “doubtful,” and that
under the new statute such damages “shall not be included in
income.” H.R. Rep. No. 767 at 9-10, S. Rep No. 617 at 29-30.
There is no reference to the return of capital theory or any other
tax policy.
The absence of any reference to the return of capital theory
is not surprising. This theory offers no persuasive reason why
replacement of past or future earnings should be excluded from
income, whether the injury be physical or nonphysical. If the
capacity to labor is a capital asset that is merely exchanged
or converted to money, producing no net gain, then wages actually
earned would not be “income” either.
The return of capital theory also does not explain how the
amount of “capital” invested in the human person should be
measured in order to determine the tax consequences of such
items as damages for pain or impairment. If an accident victim
loses the use of an eye, why should one assume in every case
that there is invested capital (or tax “basis”) in the use of the
eye, and that the amount of basis is at least as much as the
damages recovered? Apparently, the “return of capital” theory
also assumes infinite basis, so that there can never be any taxable
gain when the eye, or some other human capacity, is converted
to money damages. Surely if a taxpayer sold his eye for medical
or other use, the Service would not acknowledge any capital or
basis in the eye, and would tax the full proceeds as income.
As many commentators have noted, the “return of capital”
theory simply does not provide the basis for the exclusion of
§104(ay2), and there is no persuasive evidence that Congress
would have thought so, or did in fact think so. The full Tax
Court, sitting en banc earlier this year, put it well:
We doubt whether the return of capital theory justifies
the exclusion from income of the full range of damages
found to be excludable under section 104(a)(2), partic-
ularly damages received in lieu of lost income. Perhaps,
even originally, a more satisfactory justification for
excluding a recovery for lost earnings as well as a
recovery for pain and suffering may have been based
on emotional and traditional, rather than logical,
factors. Whatever reasons initially motivated Congress
to enact an exclusion for damages received on account
of personal injuries or sickness, a contemporary inquiry
must by necessity restrict itself to the language of
section 104(a)(2), and administrative and judicial
interpretations of that language.
Downey v. Commissioner, 97 T.C. 150, 159 (1991)(citation to
scholarly articles omitted).
The Service asks the Court to infer not only that Congress
intended to adopt the return of capital theory but also that its
intent was even more specific — ie., that §104(a)(2) silently
intends to impose the return of capital theory, whatever that
means, on recoveries for nonphysical personal injuries but not
physical personal injuries. There is no evidence of any such intent,
and the Court should not infer it.
Absent support in the statutory language or legislative intent,
the Service resorts to its own history of interpreting §104(a)(2)
and its predecessors. The Service advises the Court that, in 1920,
the Service conjectured that the 1918 statute was “{p]roba-
bly ... merely declarative” of the human capital theory. Solic-
itor’s Memorandum 1384, 2 C.B. 71, 72; revoked by Solicitor’s
Opinion 132, I-1 C.B. 92, 94 (1922).
10
After 1922, the Service says that its position was based on
two beliefs that have since been shown to be wrong. First, the
Service says it believed the statutory exclusion for personal injury
damages embodied a general distinction between physical and
nonphysical injuries. Petitioner’s Brief at 11-12. As discussed
supra at 7, the 1989 amendment of §104(a)(2) would make no
sense if this general distinction existed. Moreover, even the
Service now grudgingly acknowledges that recoveries for both
physical and nonphysical personal injuries must be analyzed
— the specific §104(a)(2) exclusion. Petitioner’s Brief at 14,
n.13.
Second, the Service says it believed a separate statutory
exclusion for nonphysica! injuries was in large part unnecessary,
because the return of capital theory would make a tax on such
damages unconstitutional in any event. Petitioner’s Brief at 12-
13. However, the notion of a constitutional restriction that would
limit the kinds of income Congress can tax has also proven wrong.
See Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass, 348 U.S. 426 (1955)
discussed infra. ;
| The Service in effect cites its own long record of erroneous
interpretation on this issue as a reason why this Court should
now rescue the Service from the clear language of §104(a)(2) and
the weight of lower court authority. The Service’s own long record
of error is no reason for the Court to adopt the Service’s strained
and unsupported interpretation of §104(a)(2).
Nor can the Service derive any support for its two-tiered
additional burden approach from the case law. Commissioner
v. Glenshaw Glass Co., supra, apparently forms the basis for
much of the Service’s argument. See Petitioner’s Brief at 7, 9,
13, 15, 18 & 21. That case, however, offers absolutely no support
for the Service's position. Glenshaw Glass held that the punitive
portion of treble damages received by a corporation was “income”
under the predecessor of $61 of the Internal Revenue Code. Some
taxpayers, based on dictum in Eisner v. Macomber, 252 US.
189, 207 (1920), had argued that the general concept of “income”
under the Code was limited to returns derived from the taxpayer's
labor or capital. This notion was rejected. The only statutory
exclusion from gross income that was considered in Glenshaw
Glass was the exclusion for gifts. 348 U.S. at 432. The Court
11
had no reason even to consider “any other exemption under the
Code.” Id. The case involved no personal injury, and the Court
neither rejected nor adopted any position of the Service regarding
compensation for personal injuries. 348 U.S. at 432, n.8.
The Service’s further reliance (Petitioner’s Brief at 14) on
Starrels v. Commissioner, 304 F.2d 574, 576 (9th Cir. 1962), in
support of its two-tiered additional burden approach to nonphys-
ical injuries under §104(a)(2), ignores the very real injury caused
to victims of nonphysical injuries, such as discrimination.
Starrels held that a payment to a taxpayer in return for an
agreement to allow a motion picture to be made regarding her
family was not excluded by §104(a)(2). The court rejected the
taxpayer's argument that §104(a)(2) excluded from taxation
payments made in return for the taxpayer selling her privacy
rights. That case makes perfect sense but it has no application
here. Title VII plaintiffs do not, in any sense, voluntarily agree
to be victims of discrimination, nor do they sell their nghts to
be free of discrimination, in return for an award of backpay.
They have been victims of an “actual invasion of personal rights,”
304 F.2d at 576, and thus, as the Starrels court itself would have
recognized, are entitled to the §104(a)(2) exclusion.
Social Security Board v. Nierotko, 327 U.S. 358 (1946), relied
on by Petitioner at 19, 26 and 28, is also of no help. That case
contains no consideration of the exclusion in §104(a)(2). Instead,
the Court considered whether a backpay award to an employee
under the National Labor Relations Act came within the
definition of “wages” under the Social Security Act. It appears
that counsel, and therefore the courts, simply assumed that the
backpay in issue was “income,” and focused only on whether
the backpay was also included in the narrower subcategory,
“wages.” Neither this Court nor the court of appeals ever
considered that the exclusions from the definition of “income”
under the Internal Revenue Code — such as the one in §104(a)(2)
— might also apply under the Social Security Act. See also
Nierotko v. Social Security Board, 149 F.2d 273 (6th Cir. 1945),
aff'd, 327 U.S. 358 (1946).
Nor can the Service garner current support for its two-tiered
additional burden analysis from the lower courts. The appellate
courts and the Tax Court, many of which once accepted the
Service’s approach, have now overwhelmingly rejected it. Those
courts have overwhelmingly rejected any distinction between
physical and nonphysical injuries or any additional inquiry into
the nature of the recovery in a nonphysical injury case. Instead,
those courts have concluded that, in reference to both physical
and nonphysical personal injuries:
|WJhether the damages received are paid on account
of ‘personal injuries’ should be the beginning and end
of the inquiry. To determine whether the injury
complained of is personal, we must look to the origin
and character of the claim and not to the consequences
that result from the injury.
Threlkeld v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 1294, 1299 (1986), aff'd, 848
F.2d 81 (6th Cir. 1988). Accord Downey v. Commissioner, 97 T.C.
150 (1991)(age discriminations, Metzger v. Commissioner, 88 T.C.
834 (1987), aff'd without published opinion, 845 F.2d 1013 (3d
Cir. 1988)(discrimination based on sex and national
' Subsequently, however, the courts have recognized, and the Service
apparently agrees (see Petitioner’s Brief at 10, n.5) that the §104(a)(2)
exclusion also applies to Social Security taxes. As the courts have come
to realize, “wages” is a subset of “income” for tax purposes. Rowan
Companies, Inc. v. United States, 452 U.S. 247, 254 (1981); Royster Co.
u. United States, 479 F.2d 387, 390 (4th Cir. 1973). If an item is excluded
from “income” under §104(a)(2), then 1¢ is not taxable as “wages.”
Anderson v. United States, 929 F.2d 648, 654 (Fed. Cir. 1991); Redfield
vu. Insurance Company of North America, 940 F.2d 542, 548 (9th Cir.
1991).
13
origin);* Rickel v. Commissioner, 900 F.2d 655, 659 (3d Cir. 1990),
aff'g in part and reversing in part, 92 T.C. 510 (1989)(age); Prstillo
v. Commissioner, 912 F.2d 145, 148 (6th Cir. 1990), reu’g 5 ¢ ot
Memo 1989-329 (1989)(age); Redfield v. Insurance Company of
North America, 940 F.2d 542, 545 (9th Cir. 1991)(age); Wulf v.
City of Wichita, 883 F.2d 842, 872 & n.39 ( 10th Cir. 1989). But
cf. Thompson v. Commissioner, 866 F.2d 709, 712 (4th Cir. 1989)
‘ The Service cites (Petitioner's Brief at 25 & n.19) certain Tax Court
decisions, including Hodge v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 616 (1975), as
supporting its position in this case. In fact, however, Threlkeld overruled
the analysis used in Hodge. In Metzger, the Tax Court specifically ruled,
following Threlkeld, that a violation of Title VII was a personal injury
unde §104(a)(2). Subsequently, some Tax Court decisions deviated from
the Threlkeld approach. See Rickel, 900 F.2d at 659, n.5 (analyzing the
Tax Court’s sometimes inconsistent approaches). However, the Tax
Court’s most recent opinion in Downey represented a reconsideration,
en banc, of the Tax Court’s approach. Downey reaffirms Threlkeld and
overrules, either expressly or by implication, any of the Tax Court's
decisions that looked to the consequences, rather than the nature, of
a nonphysical personal injury.
14
(discussed infra at 21).5
In sum, as the majority of appellate courts and the Tax Court
have come to recognize, the Service's distinction between physical
and nonphysical injuries, and imposition of an additional burden
on victims of nonphysical injuries, has no basis under §104(a)(2).
Amici ask this Court to reject once and for all the Service’s tortured
and unfounded approach to this exclusion.
III. The Service’s Interpretation of §104(a)(2) Unfairly
Discriminates Against Victims of Nonphysical Per-
sonal Injuries.
Of particular concern to amici is the fact that the Service’s
strained interpretation of §104(a)(2) discriminates against victims
of nonphysical personal injuries — such as plaintiffs who have
been victims of race and sex discrimination. The Service’s
interpretation of §104(a)(2) adds a new wrinkle to this already
complex area of litigation and operates to discourage and
» The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled, using a
different analysis, that Title VII plaintiffs should be deprived of the
§104(a)(2) exclusion. Sparrow v. Commissioner, No. 90-1151 (D.C.Cir.
Nov. 26, 1991). The court erroneously focused on Title VII’s backpay
remedy and concluded that Title VII backpay could not be considered
“damages” under §104(a)(2) because it was a remedy “in equity” and
not damages “at law.” This eccentric analysis would result in taxation
of backpay only in cases brought under Title VII and not other statutes,
thereby producing inconsistent results for victims of discrimination
suing under different statutes, or even for a single victim of discrim-
ination asserting a claim under more than one statute. Moreover, the
D.C. Circuit’s analysis ignores the Treasury Regulations, which define
a “personal injury” by reference to the type of right violated (“tort or
torttype right”), not the type of remedy. The Regulations also contradict
Sparrow's hypertechnical approach to the meaning of the term damages,
stating only that damages “means an amount received.” 26 C.F.R. §1.104-
l(c). Finally, the D.C. Circuit's law-equity distinction ignores the fact
that, at the time that §104(a)(2) was incorporated into the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954, the distinction between actions at law and suits
in equity in federal courts had long since been abolished by the 1938
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 1 and 2 and Advisory
Committee Notes.
15
complicate settlement of these cases. There is no basis in either
tax policy or the civil rights laws for a two-tiered additional burden
approach to victims of nonphysical personal injuries.
To the extent that §104(a)(2) excludes income which otherwise
would be or should be subject to taxation, the Service’s policy
arguments must be addressed to Congress, which could act to
narrow the §104(a)(2) exemption. The policy argument on the
other side is, of course, that “the injured party, who has suffered
enough, should not be further burdened with the practical
difficulty of sorting out the taxable and nontaxable components
of a lump-sum award.” Roemer v. Commissioner, 716 F.2d 693,
696 (9th Cir. 1983). There is no basis, however, either in policy
or in the current statutory language, for the Service’s two-tiered
additional burden approach. Victims of Title VII and other
nonphysical injuries are not seeking special tax treatment, but
simply treatment in accordance with that afforded other victims
of personal injuries.
The Service argues that Title VII payments are based on
compensation that plaintiffs otherwise would have received and
that such compensation would have been taxable income.
Petitioner’s Brief at 19. This is equally true, however, in numerous
recoveries in physical injury cases in which part, or even all,
of a plaintiff's recovery is his lost past or future earnings. See,
e.g., Norfolk & W. Ry. v. Liepelt, supra, 444 U.S. at 496. A victim
who cannot work because he is black is no less barred from
employment than a victim who cannot work because he is
physically injured.
The Service also argues that its tax treatment is appropriate
because, under Title VII, the only monetary relief available is
backpay. Petitioner’s Brief at 17. Thus, the Service apparently
seeks to suggest that no “sorting out” of taxable and nontaxable
amounts would be necessary in Title VII cases. The Service's
facile approach, however, cannot mask the practical “sorting”
problems that are inherent in the two-tiered additional burden
approach.
In suits for injuries ranging from slander to defamation to
age discrimination to race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. §1981,
the Service’s approach would require that both state and federal
16
courts apportion damages into various taxable and nontaxable
components. Instead of simply excluding “any damages,” -as
$104(aX(2) now provides, the Service would exclude only those
damages that represent what the Service calls a “return of
capital.” At the very least, such an approach would necessitate
special interrogatories and jury instructions to guide the
apportionment of recoveries into taxable and nontaxable items.
Moreover, Title VII awards, too, would require sorting out.
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Title VI] has been amended
to provide for compensatory, as well as punitive, damages,
including “emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental
anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses.”
Pub.L. §102-166, 102(a)(1) and (b)(3\(to be codified at 42 U.S.C.
$1981A). Even under the Service’s additional burden approach,
these kinds of compensatory damages would presumably be
excluded under §104(a)(2), since they compensate for what the
Service views as a prior loss of personal capital. See Petitioner’s
Brief at 12. Thus, apportionment, special interrogatories, and a
maze of varying tax consequences will also be a part of litigation
under Title VIL.
Of even greater practical concern to amici, however, than
the impact on litigation, is the impact of the Service’s two-tiered
additional burden approach on the potential for settlement of
discrimination suits. By distinguishing between physical and
nonphysica! injuries and then placing an additional burden on
taxpayers who have recovered for nonphysical injuries, the
Service’s approach adds both expense and complication to any
potential settlement for such injuries. This result is particularly
inappropriate under Title VII, in light of Congress’ express policy
of favoring voluntary compliance and settlement of such suits.
See Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 44 (1974):
Ford Motor Co. v. EEOC, 458 U.S. 219, 228 (1982).
The position of the Service has made settlement of Title VII
and other discrimination cases needlessly difficult and costly.
When a chance exists that all or a portion of a settlement will
be viewed by the Service as taxable income and “wages,” a
conservative defendant will take the position that income taxes
and employment taxes must be withheld as a condition
17
of the settlement.” Defendants also point out that their true cost
to settle includes the settlement amount plus those components
of employment taxes that are not withheld from wages but are
imposed directly on the employer as an excise tax.’ These and
many other tax issues can become huge factors in the settlement
process, driving up the cost of settlement and forcing the plaintiff
class to hire expensive tax professionals just to negotiate and
administer the tax aspect of settlement of the case.
Complex allocation issues based on taxes will continue to
plague the settlement process if this Court sustains the Service's
position in this case. For example, it can be argued that Title
VII recoveries represent not only “backpay” but also pre-
judgment interest accrued since the time the discriminatory
conduct occurred. While the Service says that backpay is subject
to both income taxes and FICA/FUTA taxes, interest is clearly
not subject to FICA/FUTA taxes, nor is it subject to income
tax withholding by the defendant.* Thus, under the Service's
current position, there are strong tax incentives to treat part of
the settlement as pre-judgment interest in order to save the cost
of FICA and FUTA taxes. Defendants worry, however, that the
Service, on audit, may not respect the allocation to interest and
may treat those dollars as if they were additional “wages,”
resulting in personal liability against the defendant for FICA,
FUTA taxes, for income taxes not withheld, and for
6 The Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) imposes Social
Security and Medicare taxes on “wages.” See 26 U.S.C. $3101 ‘tax
imposed on individuals’ income if such income constitutes “wages ’);
26 U.S.C. § 3102 (collection of the employee's tax through withholding
by the employer). Employers also must deduct and withhold the
employee's income tax from “wages 26 U.S.C. § 3402.
’ See 26 U.S.C. $3111 (half of FIC A tax imposed directly on the employer),
26 U.S.C. § 3301, et seq. (unemployment insurance tax imposed on
employers by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act).
> See e.g., Revenue Ruling 30-364. |\e2 CB. 294 (back pay is “wages,”
interest is not).
18
substantial penalties.’ Negotiation of these matters is therefore
a difficult and costly struggle for the parties. Moreover, the recent
amendment of Title VII, discussed supra at 16, which expands
the relief available under Title VII, will further complicate
settlements, if the parties are required to engage in complex
damage allocations acceptable to the Service.
To cite just one example of the tax-based complexity that
plagues Title VII cases, about one-third of the lengthy settlement
agreement in a recently settled class action, plus a five-page “side
letter,” deals solely or largely with tax matters."” The parties
wrestled with such issues as (1) backpay vs. interest; (2) conditions
under which the defendant would be willing to rely on the interest
allocation and forego withholding and employment taxes; (3) the
process for seeking a binding determination from the Service
or an opinion of outside tax counsel prior to the distribution of
money to the class members; (4) allocation of attorneys’ fees and
costs as between backpay and interest; (5) how a windfall to
the defendant would be avoided where the employer's share of
employment taxes was paid out of the settlement shares of the
thousands of class members who were also current employees
of the defendant; and (6) many other tax-related issues. Tax issues
consumed countless hours of the parties’ time and $80,000 was
spent on tax counsel fees by the plaintiffs alone. o
‘An employer who pays “wages” and does withhold income taxes or
the employee's half of FICA taxes is personally liable for the amounts
that should have been withheld but were not. See 26 U.S.C. §§3102(b)
(FICA), 3403 (income tax withholding). The employer is also liable for
(1) FUTA tax, (2) the employer half of FICA tax, and (3) a 10 percent
penalty for failure to make a timely deposit of all required FICA’ FUTA
taxes and required income tax withholding. 26 U.S.C. §6656.
“ EEOC, et al. v. AT&T Technologies, Inc., No. 78 C 3951 and No.
82 C 1542 (N.D.I1L) is a federal sex discrimination class action on behalf
of approximately 13,000 women, alleging that the defendant carried
out discriminatory policies against women taking maternity leaves from
employment. The parties’ settlement negotiations related to taxation
issues began in earnest in February of 1991 and were not completed
until July. The settlement was approved by the court on December 9,
1991.
19
In short, the Service's position, if adopted by the Court, would
perpetuate drawn out and costly disputes in which plaintiffs
attempt to characterize amounts of money as being one thing,
in order to save the cost of taxes for both parties, and defendants,
fearing tax liability, insist on the conservative position that all
or much of the settlement consists of taxable “back wages,” from
which the Service is entitled to take its cut. Settlements are more
expensive and tax issues may operate to discourage the parties
from settlement, resulting in more protracted litigation. These
costly and complex impediments to settlement would be elim-
inated if this Court simply gives §104(a)(2) its plain and intended
meaning. Discrimination cases could then be settled just like any
other personal injury case, without costly disputes over tax
issues.'! Discrimination victims would receive the same tax
treatment as other tort victims.
IV. The Possibility that Plaintiffs’ Recovery Here Was
for “Work Performed” Provides No Basis for the
Service’s Position in this Case.
The Service repeatedly emphasizes that plaintiffs’ recovery
in this case was “for work already performed.” Petitioner’s Brief
at 18-20, 21. The Service likens this to a suit for wage deficiencies
or a wage differential. Jd. at 5 (citing Opinion of the District
Court, Pet. App. 32a). This characterization, however, even if
it accurately describes the remedy provided in the case
-: If backpay for discrimination is not taxable, then the only arguably
taxable items that could be recovered in such cases would be interest
and, after 1991, punitive damages. Simplicity is best achieved, however,
by holding that a// amounts received (except punitive damages) are not
taxable. Alternatively, the parties could treat a settlement as an amount
of damages without interest. See McShane v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo
1987-151, 53 T.C.M. 409 (1987). However, this may require sophisticated
consideration by the parties of the tax issues. Punitive damages are
not an issue because they are simply not agreed to by defendants as
part of settlements, even in cases where they could be awarded at trial.
20
before the Court,'2 cannot support the Service’s general approach
to Title VII and other nonphysical injury recoveries.
First, amici note that there is little basis for characterizing
invidious wage discrimination as anything other than a personal
injury. An employee who is paid less because she is female or
black has been discriminated against and the wrong committed
is to her person. See 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a). Compare 29 U.S.C.
§206 (minimum wage requirements). In addition, a wage differ-
ential often forms one component of a physical injury case, where,
for example, a physical injury requires a plaintiff to obtain a
lower paying job because he can no longer perform a job he
held prior to his injury. Presumably the Service would agree that
this recovery would be excluded by §104(a)(2). Thus, neither the
injury involved nor the remedy provided offers any basis for
depriving plaintiffs here of the §104(a)(2) exclusion.
Moreover, to describe any backpay in a discrimination case
as compensation “for services” is simply to mischaracterize the
nature of the Title VII rernedy. The backpay is not a liability
that the employer incurred in order to obtain services. The reason
for the payment of compensation is the employer’s illegal
discrimination, not the work the plaintiff performed.
More importantly, even if backpay could be viewed in some
sense, in some cases, as “compensation for services” under Code
§61(a)(1), this does not address the §104(a)(2) analysis. Items
included in the general concept of income, or even specifically
listed in §§61(a)(1) through (15), are included in “gross income”
only “{e]xcept as otherwise provided in this subtitle,” e.g., except
as otherwise provided in §104(a)(2).'° The fact that damages
‘: Amici’s understanding is that the settlement proceeds were not
awarded or distributed on a backpay basis, nor was any attempt made
to provide an appropriate differential to each plaintiff to provide her
with a nondiscriminatory rate ot pay. The specific nature of the award
in this case, however, is most propery addressed by the parties.
‘3 Other kinds of “compensativn tur services” are also excluded by “other
provisions” of subtitle A, such as health insurance (§106). Similarly,
other items specifically listed in $6l\a) are, nevertheless, in some
circumstances, excluded under anvther provision of subtitle A. E.g.,
discharge of indebtedness income under §$61(a)(12) and 108.
21
i
received may also be viewed as “compensation for services,”
provides absolutely no support for the government’s position.
However, even if a distinction is to be drawn in wage
differential cases under §104(a)(2), the Service’s proposed
interpretation of that Section must still be rejected. After
repeatedly stressing the fact that plaintiffs’ recovery here was
for work already performed, the Service argues that there is no
distinction between salary discrimination cases and cases
involving discriminatory firing or failure to hire. Petitioner’s Brief
at 26, n.20. The Service seeks a wholesale limitation on, and
two-tiered additional burden approach to, all nonphysical injuries
under §104(a)(2) and that approach must be rejected.
One court of appeals has drawn a distinction, under
§104(a)(2), for a salary discrimination case, but on very narrow
grounds. In Thompson v. Commissioner, 866 F.2d 705 (4th Cir.
1989), the Fourth Circuit held that a wage differential award
under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. §206(d), and under
Title VII did not fall within the §104(a)(2) exclusion. The court
reasoned that plaintiff “received compensation for services
rendered whereas a tort plaintiff receives compensation for the
inability to earn an income due to the tortious action of a
defendant.” 866 F.2d at 712. Amici respectfully disagree with
the decision in Thompson for the reasons stated supra at 20-
21. As other courts have recognized, however, even under the
court’s analysis in Thompson, recovery of backpay by a termi-
nated employee or an employee who was not hired would still
be excluded by §104(a)(2). Redfield, supra, 940 F.2d at 546; Rickel,
supra, 900 F.2d at 664, n.16.
The government’s disingenuous description of the recovery
in this case — pay for “work performed” — should not be permitted
to color this Court’s analysis of the general nature of the “personal
injury” of illegal discrimination. Cases involving illegal pay
differences for “work performed” are a small fraction of the cases
to which the Court’s opinion in this case may be applied. Persons
who are discharged, not hired, or not promoted to higher positions
represent the bulk of discrimination victims. In the physical
injury case there is no doubt that damages representing wages
that should have been earned, but were not because of the injury,
are excludable from tax. Victims of illegal discrimination are
29
in precisely the same position and are entitled to the same
treatment.
By selecting this case as its vehicle for Supreme Court review,
and by its description of the recovery as pay for work performed,
the Service attempts to color the Court’s analysis and, if the
Court reverses, perhaps also to obtain a rationale for denying
the benefits of §104(a)(2) to the more typical discrimination
claimants who cannot be said, in any sense whatsoever, to be
receiving pay for work performed. Amici respectfully request this
Court to decline the Service’s invitation to use this case as a
vehicle for such an emasculation of the §104(a)(2) exclusion.
CONCLUSION
The judgment of the court of appeals should be affirmed.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary L. Mikva
STEPHEN G. SELIGER
122 South Michigan Avenue
Suite 1850
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 427-4500
R. Lee Curistieé
Hopkins & SUTTER
Three First National Plaza
Suite 4200
Chicago, Illinois 60602
(312) 558-4212
ARTHUR BENSON, III
Benson & McKay
1000 Walnut Street
Suite 1125
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
(816) 842-7603
Of Counsel
Micuae B. Erp
Katz, FRIEDMAN, SCHUR
& EaG.e, CuTp.
7 South Dearborn Street
Suite 1700
Chicago, Dlinois 60603
(312) 263-6330
Counsel of Record for the
Amici Curiae
Mary K. O'MELVENY
COMMUNICATION WORKERS
or AMERICA
501 3rd Street, N.W.
Suite 810
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 434-1213
Of Counsel
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