United States v. Therese a. Burke, Cynthia R. Center, and Linda G. Gibbs

Decided May 26, 1992. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-42 · 504 U.S. 229 (1992) · Cited 706 times

Holding

Backpay awards in settlement of Title VII claims are not excludable from gross income under 104(a)(2).

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 7–2.

“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.

• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Curtis v. Loether · 415 U.S. 189 (1974)
• Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co. · 482 U.S. 656 (1987)
• Wilson v. Garcia · 471 U.S. 261 (1985)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• United States v. Centennial Savings Bank FSB · 499 U.S. 573 (1991)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Assn. of United States, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. · 463 U.S. 29 (1983)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co. · 401 U.S. 424 (1971)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc. · 421 U.S. 454 (1975)
• Helvering v. Clifford · 309 U.S. 331 (1940)
• Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. · 348 U.S. 426 (1955)
• Cheek v. United States · 498 U.S. 192 (1991)
• Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond · 496 U.S. 414 (1990)
• Memphis Community School District v. Stachura · 477 U.S. 299 (1986)
• Great American Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Novotny · 442 U.S. 366 (1979)
• United States v. Correll · 389 U.S. 299 (1967)
• Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers Local No. 391 v. Terry · 494 U.S. 558 (1990)
• Jarecki v. G. D. Searle & Co. · 367 U.S. 303 (1961)
• Social Security Board v. Nierotko · 327 U.S. 358 (1946)
• Lytle v. Household Manufacturing, Inc. · 494 U.S. 545 (1990)
• Commissioner v. Jacobson · 336 U.S. 28 (1949)
• Molzof v. United States · 502 U.S. 301 (1992)
• Arcadia v. Ohio Power Co. · 498 U.S. 73 (1990)

Cited by

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

• Commissioner v. Schleier · 515 U.S. 323 (1995)
• O'Gilvie v. United States · 519 U.S. 79 (1996)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• Doggett v. United States · 505 U.S. 647 (1992)
• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates · 508 U.S. 248 (1993)
• Day v. McDonough · 547 U.S. 198 (2006)
• United States National Bank v. Independent Insurance Agents of America, Inc. · 508 U.S. 439 (1993)
• Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education · 544 U.S. 167 (2005)
• United States v. International Business MacHines Corp. · 517 U.S. 843 (1996)
• West v. Gibson · 527 U.S. 212 (1999)
• Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn · 604 U.S. 593 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). 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).