It shall be unlawful for any attorney engaged in any appeal to the courts on behalf of an employee involving the employee's application for initial determination or claim for benefits to charge or receive any fee in excess of a reasonable fee to be fixed by the superior court in respect to the services performed in connection with the appeal taken and to be fixed by the supreme court or the court of appeals in the event of appellate review, and if the decision of the commissioner shall be reversed or modified, such fee and the costs shall be payable out of the family and medical leave enforcement account.