Columbia Manufacturing Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board

The Equal Access to Justice Act, 5 U.S.C. § 504 , provides that “[a]n agency that conducts an adversary adjudication shall award, to a prevailing party ..., fees ... incurred by that party in connection with that proceeding, unless ... the position of the agency as a party to the proceeding was substantially justified or . .. special circumstances make an award unjust.” 5 U.S.C. § 504(a)(1) (1982). The party seeking an award of attorneys’ fees must submit an application to the administrative agency “within thirty days of a final disposition in the adversary adjudication.” Id. § 504(a)(2).

In the instant case, Columbia Manufacturing Corporation (Columbia) filed an application for attorneys’ fees thirty-three days after the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), on motion of the NLRB’s General Counsel, dismissed an unfair labor practice complaint filed against Columbia. Although the ALJ awarded Columbia attorneys’ fees, the award was reversed by the NLRB on the ground that it lacks jurisdiction to award fees where the fee application was not filed within the thirty-day time limit provided in section 504.

Section 504(c)(2) provides that a court may modify the NLRB’s fee determination…