President Clinton has ordered the formation of an alternative dispute resolution working group to promote greater agency-wide use of consensual resolution methods.
The group, which will include representatives of each of the Cabinet departments and other agencies with a significant interest in dispute resolution, will facilitate and encourage the use of alternative means of settling disputes, such as mediation and arbitration.
Federal managers and employees often find the traditional complaint process for allegations ranging from discrimination to retaliation for whistleblowing to be a bureaucratic maze. In recent years, agencies have begun using ADR to reduce their backlogs of cases and cut costs associated with those cases.
Clinton's working group will facilitate, encourage and provide coordination for agencies in such areas as:
- Developing programs employing alternative means of dispute resolution.
- Training agency personnel to recognize when and how to use ADR.
- Developing procedures that permit agencies to obtain the service of neutral parties on a expedited basis.
- Record keeping to determine the benefits of ADR.
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