Thereafter briefs were filed with the undersigned. It was recommended that the Complaint be dismissed. The Equal Access to Justice Act became effective on October 1, 1981. The Congress further finds that because of the greater resources and expertise of the United States the standard for an award of fees against the United States should be different from the standard governing an award against a private litigant, in certain situations. The Authority's implementation of the EAJA is found in Art 2430 of the Rules and Regulations.
Provision is made for fees and expenses to be paid to a prevailing party.
The burden of proof that an award should not be made to an eligible applicant is on the General Counsel, who may avoid an award by showing that its position in initiating the proceeding was reasonable in law and fact. It thus becomes clear from the foregoing statutory provision, as well as the Authority's Rules and Regulations, that a prevailing party may be awarded fees and expenses unless it be shown that there was substantial justification for the action or proceeding. Moreover, it is incumbent upon the General Counsel to show that there was a reasonable basis in law and fact for initiating the proceeding. There seemed little doubt, and it was held, that a labor dispute existed between Respondent and the Social Security Administration re the official time to be taken by officers of the union under the national contract. The underlying question of when picketing is deemed to constitute interference with an agency's operations was one of first impression in the public sector.