One approach which will be useful in meeting the parties' obligation to engage in a meaningful interactive process in some sensitive reasonable accommodation situations is to employ a neutral to facilitate the process. Although similar to the rather more common variety of mediations in employment disputes, facilitation entails some differences of format.
The tenets were developed as the policy statement of the Institute for ADA Mediation, Louisville, Kentucky.Its core principles focus on resolving workplace disputes under ADA Title I, but apply to other types of ADA mediation, as well as to mediation of disputes arising under other disability-related civil rights laws.
Dispute resolution resources offer great potential for assisting older persons and persons with disabilities in resolving conflicts in humane, lasting, expeditious, cost-effective and often empowering ways. In 1998, the American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly received funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to promote the integration of conflict resolution in the aging and disability fields.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires employers to reasonably accommodate the disabilities of their employees. According to the implementing regulations, reasonable accommodations are to be determined by what is termed an interactive process.
This editorial formally opens the ADA Mediation Page that MIRC has published over the last year, offering the most up-to-date writing and commentary on ADA mediation. This Page is a complement to the ADA Mediation online discussion group at ADA Forum Discussion, where practitioners exchange ideas – with stakeholders and advocates welcome to join in.
Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) continue to be a growing source of potential disputes between employees and employers. To assist in the mediation of ADA cases, a working group of practicing mediators, attorneys, program administrators and trainers has created ADA Mediation Guidelines designed to address "issues that are unique to resolving disability-related disputes." This article comments on certain responsibilities that the guidelines place on the mediator.
Plaintiffs and defendants alike benefit from the clear choices generated in the mediation of psychiatric disability claims. Mediation affords the unique opportunity to examine, in a cool-headed environment, how the situation must look to each side and how it might look to an impartial observer such as a judge or jury. The empowered decision-making that flows from the mediation process may provide the best opportunity for closure that the legal system can provide. Why, then, are these cases so hard to mediate?
Mediation is an ideal alternative to court for many matters. Referrals involving disputants with certain emotional or mental disabilities may or may not be appropriate for community mediation as it is currently being practiced. In many cases, community mediation must become more flexible and accessible, offering coaching in advance, allowing advocate participation, using mediators skilled in disability issues, and adapting the process. In other cases, centers must assess the "mediation readiness" of disputants. In all cases, community mediation needs to become more deeply nested in human services referral networks. Screening criteria through which mediation programs might assess disputant readiness is suggested.
Although cases arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sometimes present straightforward generic mediation issues, they frequently raise unique and multi-layered issues for the mediator. It is important for ADA mediators to be trained in disability law, and in disability awareness including bias issues, disability access, and how to set up and run an accessible mediation session.
The following Standards of Conduct for ADA Mediations were developed to provide guidance to mediators on the Key Bridge Foundation Mediator Roster. These guidelines are specifically focused on mediating ADA title III complaints and title II complaints excluding employment.
This article focuses on the mediation of employment disputes arising under Title I, the employment section of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The authors examine the most common issues that may arise under Title I, consider the possible arguments that may be presented by both employee and employer, and present guidance and possible paths to solution for the mediator.
What type of mediator do you want to have hear an ADA case, how do you evaluate the mediator and how might a mediator/arbitrator handle an ADA mediation/arbitration, how should you prepare for an ADA mediation or arbitration, and should your ADA case be mediated or arbitrated?
These regulations cover the U.S. federal sector and are designed to encourage equal employment opportunities.
People with disabilities are just like everyone else, except for their disability. They are just as likely as anyone to find themselves caught up in a commercial, labor, family or other dispute. All mediators - regardless of their area of specialization - need to know how to set up and run an accessible mediation session.
The ADA Mediation Guidelines for mediation providers are the product of a national Work Group convened to develop mediation practice Guidelines unique to conflicts arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act
This is the first report from the working group (Track Two) on ADR in the Employment Sector. This paper addresses essential and recommended elements of mediation programs instituted by agencies charged with investigating and adjudicating statutory workplace claims.
Mediators should have experience in the areas of ADA and disability access. Many people feel uncomfortable dealing with people who have disabilities. A mediator should set a correct tone by interacting appropriately and by using appropriate disability terminology.