BNSF Railway Co. v. Loos, , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a railroad's payment to an employee for working time lost due to an on-the-job injury is taxable "compensation" under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act.
Michael Loos sued BNSF Railway Company under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) for injuries he received while working at BNSFâÂÂs railyard. A jury awarded him $126,212.78, ascribing $30,000 of that amount to wages lost during the time Loos was unable to work. BNSF asserted that the lost wages constituted "compensation" taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) and asked to withhold $3,765 of the $30,000 to cover LoosâÂÂs share of the RRTA taxes. The district court and the Eighth Circuit rejected the requested offset, holding that an award of damages compensating an injured railroad worker for lost wages is not taxable under the RRTA.
Commentators observed that Justice Ginsburg's majority opinion avoided reference to Chevron deference, perhaps because that was necessary to achieve a majority. In dissent, Justice Gorsuch criticized Chevron and praised the majority for seemingly ignoring it.