Reading Room Document

Interpretation of the $12,000 salary limitation imposed on special attorneys by 28 U.S.C. § 515(b).

In this memo, the OLC interpreted the $12,000 salary limitation imposed on special attorneys by 28 U.S.C. §515(b), determining whether the special attorney must be paid at a rate of $12,000 per year, or if the special attorney could be paid at a greater rate so long as the total compensation did not exceed the limitation. Examining the “extremely confusing” legislative history of §515(b) and related acts, the OLC concluded that the salary limitation required an annual rate, with a maximum daily compensation of 1/360th of $12,000. However, subsequent legislative history meant that special assistant salaries varied depending on which statute the Attorney General appointed an assistant under. The OLC recommended that §515(b) be amended to eliminate the precise dollar limitation and conform to the limitations present in other attorney salary statutes.

March 12, 1974