The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in recent years
has been pushing mediation as an alternative to formal
complaints processing, although acceptance of the process
has been below hopes. A recent study done for EEOC focusing
on an initiative with private sector complaints that is
similar to its program inside the government shed some light
on why that is so.
“The main, and overwhelming factor in an employer’s decision
to decline the offer of mediation was that the merits of
the case did not warrant mediation,” the study found–that
is the management side felt the case was not worth the
effort. A second, related factor, was that the EEOC “was not
likely to issue a reasonable cause finding,” it said–in
other words, that the management side would win in the
formal process.
Individual managers often express mixed emotions about
mediation programs at EEOC, the Merit Systems Protection
Board and other federal adjudicatory agencies. They like the
idea of speeding up and simplifying matters, avoiding the
formal complaint process that can absorb much of their time
and attention. However, they also often complain that top
management caves in on meritless complaints, sullying the
manager’s reputation even if the outcome doesn’t include any
formal indication that the manager was at fault.