United States v. Cleveland Indians Baseball Company

Decided April 17, 2001. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-203 · 532 U.S. 200 (2001) · Cited 248 times

Holding

Back wages are subject to FICA and FUTA taxes by reference to the year the wages are in fact paid.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Social Security Board v. Nierotko · 327 U.S. 358 (1946)
• United States v. Correll · 389 U.S. 299 (1967)
• National Muffler Dealers Assn., Inc. v. United States · 440 U.S. 472 (1979)
• Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers, Inc. v. United States · 286 U.S. 427 (1932)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• United Sav. Assn. of Tex. v. Timbers of Inwood Forest Associates, Ltd. · 484 U.S. 365 (1988)
• Thomas Jefferson University v. Shalala · 512 U.S. 504 (1994)
• Hilton v. South Carolina Public Railways Commission · 502 U.S. 197 (1991)
• United States v. Moore · 95 U.S. 760 (1878)
• Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner · 499 U.S. 554 (1991)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corporation · 549 U.S. 561 (2007)
• BNSF R. Co. v. Loos · 586 U.S. 310 (2019)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. v. Cline · 540 U.S. 581 (2004)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. · 566 U.S. 93 (2012)
• Barber v. Thomas · 560 U.S. 474 (2010)
• Inyo County, California v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony · 538 U.S. 701 (2003)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2001). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).