Air Force creates one-stop site for dispute resolution

Federal managers who are swamped with personnel complaints and contract disputes can seek refuge on a new Web site explaining how to avoid lengthy litigation and the administrative labyrinth of formal complaint procedures.

The Air Force recently unveiled the Web site, www.adr.af.mil. It's designed as a one-stop shop for information on alternative dispute resolution (ADR), with links to Air Force documents, other agencies' ADR programs and a host of online resources that can help managers learn the ABCs of ADR.

The costs, in both time and money, of resolving personnel and contract disputes can often be reduced by using mediation or other ADR techniques instead of traditional administrative and legal procedures. Last year, President Clinton established an interagency working group to promote the use of ADR. The Air Force site hooks up to the group's Web page.

Through the Air Force site, managers can learn about successful ADR programs. For example, the Air Force settled a contract dispute involving 10 claims worth $500,000 in two days using ADR. If the dispute had gone to litigation, the service would have had to spend months preparing for a trial and then wait even longer for a judge to issue an opinion. In addition, a court decision would have left one side unhappy. Instead, both sides quickly agreed on a solution that worked for everyone involved.

The site also links up to executive orders, General Accounting Office reports, statutes and agency policy statements regarding ADR. Air Force personnel can learn about the department's policy establishing ADR as the "first and primary method" for handling contract disputes. Managers in other Defense activities, the Justice Department and other federal agencies can also learn about the governmentwide push for broader use of ADR.