Core Principles for Federal Non-Binding Workplace ADR Programs
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August 2000 |
As the Presidentially appointed chair of this interagency committee, the Attorney General created the Federal ADR Council, an organization composed of high level officials from various agencies with ADR expertise. The Council's mission is to develop policy guidance on crosscutting issues that involve the creation and operation of Federal ADR programs.
The Council has published two documents. The first document is entitled ``Core Principles for Non-Binding Workplace ADR Programs.' We believe that any fair and effective program must address the following issues: Confidentiality, neutrality, preservation of rights, self-determination, voluntariness, representation, timing, coordination, quality, and ethics. This document briefly describes the nature of each of these principles.
Confidentiality:
All ADR processes should assure confidentiality
consistent with the provisions in the Administrative Dispute
Resolution Act. Neutrals should not discuss confidential
communications, comment on the merits of the case outside the ADR
process, or make recommendations about the case. Agency staff or
management who are not parties to the process should not ask
neutrals to reveal confidential communications. Agency policies
should provide for the protection of privacy of complainants,
respondents, witnesses, and complaint handlers.
Neutrality:
Neutrals should fully disclose any conflicts of
interest, should not have any stake in the outcome of the dispute,
and should not be involved in the administrative processing or
litigation of the dispute. For example, they should not also serve
as counselors or investigators in that particular matter.
Participants in an ADR process should have the right to reject a
specific neutral and have another selected who is acceptable to all
parties.
Preservation of rights:
Participants in an ADR process should
retain their right to have their claim adjudicated if a mutually
acceptable resolution is not achieved.
Self-determination:
ADR processes should provide participants an
opportunity to make informed, uncoerced, and voluntary decisions.
Voluntariness:
Employees' participation in the process should be
voluntary. In order for participants to make an informed choice,
they should be given appropriate information and guidance to decide
whether to use ADR processes and how to use them.
Representation:
All parties to a dispute in an ADR process
should have a right to be accompanied by a representative of their
choice, in accordance with relevant collective bargaining
agreements, statutes, and regulations.
Timing:
Use of ADR processes should be encouraged at the
earliest possible time and at the lowest possible level in the
organization.
Coordination:
Coordination of ADR processes is essential among
all agency offices with responsibility for resolution of disputes,
such as human resources departments, equal employment opportunity
offices, agency dispute resolution specialists, unions, ombuds,
labor and employee relations groups, inspectors general,
administrative grievance organizations, legal counsel, and employee
assistance programs.
Quality:
Agencies should establish standards for training
neutrals and maintaining professional capabilities. Agencies should
conduct regular evaluations of the efficiency and effectiveness of
their ADR programs.
Ethics:
Neutrals should follow the professional guidelines
applicable to the type of ADR they are practicing.
Chair:
Janet Reno, Attorney General, Department of Justice
Vice Chair:
Erica Cooper, Deputy General Counsel, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Members:
Leigh A. Bradley, General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs;
Meyer Eisenberg, Deputy General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission;
Mary Anne Gibbons, General Counsel, U.S. Postal Service;
Gary S. Guzy, General Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency;
Jeh C. Johnson, General Counsel, Department of the Air Force;
Harold Kwalwasser, Deputy General Counsel, Department of Defense;
Nancy McFadden, General Counsel, Department of Transportation;
Janet S. Potts, Counsel to the Secretary, Department of Agriculture;
Harriett S. Rabb, General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services;
Henry L. Solano, Solicitor, Department of Labor;
John Sparks, Principal Deputy General Counsel, Department of the Navy;
Peter R. Steenland, Jr., Senior Counsel for Dispute Resolution, U.S. Department of Justice;
Mary Ann Sullivan, General Counsel, Department of Energy;
Robert Ward, Dispute Resolution Specialist, Environmental Protection Agency.
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