U.S. Supreme Court Allows Railways to Withhold Taxes on Lost-Wage Awards Under FELA

Nothing is certain but death and taxes, as Benjamin Franklin once observed. While it is unquestioned that no one can escape death, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that an injured railway worker also cannot escape the income taxes used to fund the railroad retirement system during period for which he is out of work. In BNSF Railway Co. v. Loos, a seven-justice majority of the court ruled that an award of damages under the Federal Employers Liability Act for a railway worker’s lost wages qualify as “compensation” subject to taxation under the Railroad Retirement T...