Reimbursement of Legal Fees by the Small Business Administration

A decision was requested as to whether the agency had the authority to reimburse a former employee for legal fees incurred as a result of his obtaining the services of private counsel to defend him in a suit arising out of actions committed while acting within the scope of his employment. Because the U.S. Attorney who undertook defense of the employee withdrew from the case during the course of proceedings for administrative reasons, necessitating the retention of private counsel by the employee, the government's interest in defending the employee continued throughout the proceeding. There was no objection to the agency's reimbursement of the employee for an amount for reasonable legal fees incurred.