In Barber v, State Personnel Board (Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation), the Court examined whether an employee can recover damages for his increased tax liability for having received a lump sum back pay award.  Plaintiff was terminated from his job and filed a complaint with the California State Personnel Board (SPB). After numerous hearings and appeals, it was determined that he was improperly terminated and he was entitled to back pay. It was undisputed that as a result, he had increased tax liability.  The SPB denied a motion for recovery for the increased tax liability.  The trial court upheld SPB’s decision and denied his petition for writ of mandamus.  Plaintiff appealed and argued that he was entitled to recover damages for incurring increased tax  liability because his increased tax liability was caused by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) improperly terminating his employment. He argued that that awarding him such relief was consistent with the remedial statutory purpose of Government Code section 19584 of making an improperly terminated employee whole by restoring the employee to the financial position he or she would otherwise have occupied had employment not been wrongfully interrupted. The Court of Appeal disagreed. It held that he was not entitled to increased tax liability because it was not statutorily authorized and that the equitable claims failed.

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