Title 28Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3905 Attorney’s fees and interest

Title 28 › Part PART VI— - PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter CHAPTER 179— - JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CERTAIN ACTIONS BY PRESIDENTIAL OFFICES › § 3905

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Courts may award lawyers’ fees, expert fees, and other reasonable costs to a winning covered employee or a winning qualified person with a disability in the specified proceedings. The same interest for delayed payment that is available under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also applies. Unless the rules say otherwise, punitive damages cannot be awarded for those claims.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §3905

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)If a covered employee, with respect to any claim under chapter 5 of title 3, or a qualified person with a disability, with respect to any claim under section 421 of title 3, is a prevailing party in any proceeding under section 1296 or section 1346(g), the court may award attorney’s fees, expert fees, and any other costs as would be appropriate if awarded under section 706(k) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(b)In any proceeding under section 1296 or section 1346(g), the same interest to compensate for delay in payment shall be made available as would be appropriate if awarded under section 717(d) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in chapter 5 of title 3, no punitive damages may be awarded with respect to any claim under chapter 5 of title 3.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 706 and 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), are classified to section 2000e–5 and 2000e–16, respectively, of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1997, see section 3(d) of Pub. L. 104–331, set out as a note under section 1296 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 3905

Title 28Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73