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the Enhanced Severance Plan. Petitioner was likewise afforded no
individualized treatment in terms of either the agreement signed
or the payment received. Other employees who chose to
participate in the Enhanced Severance Plan signed identical
releases and received payments computed under the same
mathematical formula. Petitioner’s award reflects no increase in
amount that could reveal an intent to recompense injuries that
she alone suffered. Furthermore, although petitioner argues that
her full payment was intended to settle her personal injury
claim, we find that the implications of such a position render it
insupportable. We cannot conclude that PSC gave other terminated
employees severance pay but refused such a benefit to petitioner,
and that she succeeded in getting anything at all only because of
her harassment complaints.
A final indicator of PSC’s intent in making the payment is
the company’s own characterization of the sum. PSC reported as
Form W-2 income and withheld taxes from the $63,097 gross amount
paid to petitioner under the Enhanced Severance Plan. PSC also
labeled the $63,097 figure as “SEV PAY” on the company’s December
17, 1994, Payroll and Deduction Register.
Given these facts, we find petitioner’s situation analogous
to previous cases involving lump-sum payments offered upon
termination in return for signing a general release, and we
conclude that a like result denying exclusion treatment is
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