Reynaldo Tongol, Plaintiffs-Appellees/cross-Appellants v. William J. Usery, Jr., Defendants-Appellants/cross-Appellees

These appeals raise questions concerning the validity of a federal regulation, 20 C.F.R. § 618.15 , prohibiting states from waiving recoupment of overpayments in Federal Supplemental Benefits provided under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1974 (“the Act”), P.L. 93-572, 88 Stat. 1869 , and the availability of attorneys’ fees under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988 , for plaintiffs who successfully challenged the regulation. The district court held that the regulation barring waiver of recoupment was unenforceable in states with statutes permitting waiver. But the district court held that attorneys’ fees were not available for the prevailing plaintiffs under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976. The Secretary of Labor (“the Secretary”) appeals the district court’s judgment on the merits. Plaintiffs appeal the denial of attorneys’ fees.

I

In order to augment existing unemployment compensation programs in states with extraordinarily high unemployment, Congress passed the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1974. (H.R.Rep.No. 93-1549 (1974), 1974 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 6842.) Under the Emergency…