The Navy has objected to awards workplace discrimination
decisions in which administrative judges have enhanced the
amounts to the employee in order to make up for the taxes
due on such awards.
The letter from Navy general counsel Alberto J. Mora to the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cites three
decisions, one of them from 2004, in which the award
compensated the complainant for the adverse tax consequences
of a lump sum back pay award. The letter said the legal
reasoning does not “address the doctrine of sovereign
immunity, which, in our view, precludes this type of award
against a federal government agency.”
The Navy cited decisions from a federal appeals court and
the U.S. Supreme Court in support of its view and noted
that it is Justice Department policy that “tax enhancements
are contrary to law and DoJ policy, and, consequently, DoJ
attorneys are instructed to contest plaintiffs
