Before disgruntled employees or unhappy employers march to the courthouse to settle a grievance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission wants them to stop by and chat. The EEOC is promoting its mediation program to help resolve disputes concerning discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The commission is charged with enforcing the portion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act related to employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It also enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act, which requires men and women be paid equally when performing the same jobs. EEOC Commissioner Paul Steven Miller told a group of disability advocates in Columbus that the agency was dropping its old ways of investigating every complaint in the workplace.
Many cases now receive a preliminary review that stops when no violation is suspected.
When a review is completed and a violation seems probable, the EEOC is inviting parties to enter into mediation sessions conducted by attorneys specializing in employment law. The Cleveland EEOC office, which serves northern Ohio, has two mediators on staff and 35 volunteer mediators. About 85 percent of those claiming discrimination or harassment have agreed to mediation and about one-third of the accused employers have entered the process. Feller said 95 percent of those that completed mediation would recommend it to others. Feller said most of the cases are the result of discipline and discharge disputes.