I live in California and last year I was awarded 7,000 dollars in a Labor Board Employee Discrimination and Missed Meal / Breaks claim. Do i have to claim this as income in my taxes?? Haven't received a 1099 and was never told at the time of settling.

Yes, Employees must pay taxes on any type of damages for lost wages and also for any type of noneconomic damages. This also means that sometimes damages for emotional distress are taxable if they are not connected to a physical injury or sickness;however, tax law provides an exclusion from gross income for damage awards received on account of physical injury or physical sickness. The payor issues the 1099. However, its possible in this instance that a 1099 should either not be issued at all, or that both a W2 and a 1099 should be issued.You want to make sure to discuss this issue carefully with your attorney, because a lot of the time awards from employment discrimination cases are taxable and that factor needs to be taken into account carefully