The Merit Systems Protection Board has announced plans to
expand its mediation appeals project for federal employees
during fiscal 2005 by offering mediation services to any
party filing appeals at any of its regional offices.
It described last year’s pilot program, involving select
appeals at three regional offices, as a success, and said
a significant number of those cases resulted in settlement.
The program provides alternatives to revolving appeals on
their way to an administrative judge — currently, after
an appeal is docketed and acknowledged, a regional office
notifies the parties that mediation is available and if
they agree, the case is placed in a “suspense” status and
assigned to a mediator, according to MSPB.
It said the Board now wants to start mediating by telephone
and videoconference. Appeals settled that way would be put
into writing and submitted to a regional office for review
and prepared for a decision to dismiss them as settled.
If no agreement is reached, the appeal is returned to the
more traditional track to continue adjudication, said MSPB.
