Commissioner v. Schleier, 515 U.S. 323, 14 (1995)

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336

COMMISSIONER v. SCHLEIER

Opinion of the Court

tional distress, harm to reputation, or other consequential damages." Id., at 239.

Like the pre-1991 version of Title VII, the ADEA provides no compensation "for any of the other traditional harms associated with personal injury." Monetary remedies under the ADEA are limited to back wages, which are clearly of an "economic character," and liquidated damages, which we have already noted serve no compensatory function. Thus, though this is a closer case than Burke, we conclude that a recovery under the ADEA is not one that is "based upon tort or tort type rights."

Second, and more importantly, the holding of Burke is narrower than respondent suggests. In Burke, following the framework established in the Internal Revenue Service regulations, we noted that § 104(a)(2) requires a determination whether the underlying action is "based upon tort or tort type rights." Id., at 234. In so doing, however, we did not hold that the inquiry into "tort or tort type rights" constituted the beginning and end of the analysis. In particular, though Burke relied on Title VII's failure to qualify as an action based upon tort type rights, we did not intend to eliminate the basic requirement found in both the statute and the regulation that only amounts received "on account of personal injuries or sickness" come within § 104(a)(2)'s exclusion. Thus, though satisfaction of Burke's "tort or tort type" inquiry is a necessary condition for excludability under § 104(a)(2), it is not a sufficient condition.8

In sum, the plain language of § 104(a)(2), the text of the applicable regulation, and our decision in Burke establish

8 We recognize that a recent Revenue Ruling from the IRS seems to rely on the same reading of Burke urged by respondent. See Rev. Rul. 93-88, 1993-2 Cum. Bull. 61. Though this Revenue Ruling is not before us, we note that "the Service's interpretive rulings do not have the force and effect of regulations," Davis v. United States, 495 U. S. 472, 484 (1990), and they may not be used to overturn the plain language of a statute. See, e. g., Bartels v. Birmingham, 332 U. S. 126, 132 (1947).

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