I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4593
To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Civil Rights
Act of 1991, to require the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
to mediate employee claims arising under such Acts, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 7, 2000
Mrs. CLAYTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Civil Rights Act
of 1991, to require the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission to mediate employee claims arising under
such Acts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Employment
Dispute Resolution Act of 2000 (NEDRA)’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The prohibitive costs and emotional toll of
litigation as well as the growing backlog of employ-
ment civil rights claims and lawsuits has impeded
the protection and enforcement of workplace civil
rights.
(2) Mediation is an economical, participatory,
and expeditious alternative to traditional, less coop-
erative methods of resolving employment disputes.
(3) Mediation enables disputants to craft cre-
ative solutions and settlements, surpassing the reach
of traditional remedies, thereby possibly protecting
the continuity of the employment relationship.
(4) As we enter the new millennium, a national
program of directed or required participation in me-
diation where any settlement is voluntary mandated
mediation for certain employment and contract dis-
putes, will help fulfill the goal of equal opportunity
in work and business places of the United States.
(5) Overt and subtle discrimination still exists
in our society and in the workplace.
(6) Overt and subtle forms of discrimination
cause substantial measurable economic and non-
economic costs to employers and the American work-
force, create a barrier to fully realizing equal oppor-
tunity in the workplace, and are contrary to public
policy promoting equal opportunity in the workplace.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to establish a fair and effective alternative
means by which employees and covered employers
may have an increased likelihood of resolving both
alleged overt and subtle forms or acts of discrimina-
tion without the necessity of the employee taking
some form of legal action against the employer,
(2) in accordance with the various public poli-
cies encouraging the use of mediation, to make me-
diation available at an early stage of an employment
dispute, thus—
(A) possibly reducing economic and non-
economic costs,
(B) preserving the employment relationship
and decreasing acrimony, and
(C) decreasing the filing of a number of
formal discrimination complaints, charges, and
lawsuits and further burdening our public jus-
tice system, and
(3) to provide that the participation in medi-
ation shall not preclude either the employee-dispu-
tant or covered employer-disputant from having ac-
cess to the public justice system.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
ACT OF 1964.
(a) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) is
amended—
(1) in section 706(a) by inserting after the 7th
sentence the following:
‘‘Regardless of whether the Commission makes an inves-
tigation under this subsection, the Commission shall pro-
vide counseling services regarding, and endeavor to re-
sponsibly address and resolve, claims of unlawful discrimi-
nation using certified contract mediators.’’, and
(2) in section 711(a) by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘Every employer, employment agency, and labor organiza-
tion shall provide to each employee and each member, indi-
vidually, a copy of the materials required by this section
to be so posted.’’.
(b) OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE.—
Section 718 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000e–17) is amended—
ployee’s access to any State, local, or Federal EEO en-
forcement agency or any State or Federal court.
‘‘(f) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance shall
have authority over employers who are parties to Govern-
ment contracts that fail to comply with this section. Fail-
ure to comply shall result in the loss of a current Govern-
ment contract and disqualification from consideration for
future Government contracts.
‘‘(g) No resolution by the disputants may contravene
the provisions of a valid collective bargaining agreement
between an employer who is a part to a Government con-
tract and a labor union or certified bargaining representa-
tive. Any voluntary settlement outcome and agreement
may not be in conflict with the collective bargaining agree-
ment.’’.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EM-
PLOYMENT ACT OF 1967.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
(29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 7(e) by inserting after the 2d sen-
tence the following:
‘‘The Commission shall provide counseling services regard-
ing, and endeavor to responsibly address and resolve,
claims of unlawful discrimination using certified contract
mediators.’’, and
(2) in section 8 by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘Every employer, employment agency, and labor organiza-
tion shall provide to each employee and each member, indi-
vidually, a copy of the materials required by this section
to be so posted.’’.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENT TO AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
ACT OF 1990.
Section 107(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12117(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following: ‘‘The Commission shall provide
counseling services regarding, and endeavor to responsibly
address and resolve, claims of unlawful discrimination
using certified contract mediators.’’.
SEC. 6. MEDIATION.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
(1) The term ‘‘employer’’ means any Federal
agency (including Federal courts) or business enter-
prise receiving Federal funds of $200,000 or greater
or having 20 or more employees.
(2) The term ‘‘mediator’’ means any neutral,
third-party, including an attorney and a non-
attorney, who is trained in the mediation process
and has a demonstrable working knowledge in rel-
evant EEO and employment law, including a third
party who is—
(A) appointed or approved by a competent
court, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, a certified mediation center, or a
university, or
(B) jointly chosen by the disputants.
(3) The term ‘‘trained mediation professional’’
means a person who—
(A) has participated in employment medi-
ation training of 40 or more hours, or
(B) has co-mediated with or been super-
vised by another trained certified mediation
professional for at least three employment or
contract dispute cases of no fewer than 15
hours.
(4) The term ‘‘certified mediation center’’ in-
cludes any private or public entity that is qualified
to facilitate the employment or contract mediation
process and provide training on employment and
contract dispute resolution, including, but not lim-
ited to, the American Arbitration Association, the
American Bar Association, the Center for Employ-
ment Dispute Resolution, CPR Conflict Institute,
JAMS/Endispute, United States Arbitration and
Mediation, Inc., Institute on Conflict Resolution at
Cornell University, and the Society of Professionals
in Dispute Resolution.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—(1) All employers shall—
(A) establish an internal dispute resolution pro-
gram or system that provides, as a voluntary option,
employee-disputant access to external third-party
certified mediators,
(B) participate in mediation if the employee has
exhausted the internal dispute resolution program or
system and has formally requested mediation with-
out the filing of a charge or lawsuit, and
(C) participate in mediation if the claimant has
filed a charge or lawsuit and the claimant formally
requests mediation.
(2) While the mediation settlement outcome would be
voluntary, the employer shall participate in mediation
where the employee-disputant has expressed a desire to
mediate.
(3) Under all circumstances, the employee-disputant
is entitled to legal representation.
(4) Employers shall inform employee-disputants of
the mediation alternative and their respective rights there-
of, and the employee-disputant would have 30 days in
which to decide whether to participate in mediation.
(5) When an employee-disputant voluntarily agrees to
participate in the mediation process, any applicable stat-
ute of limitations shall be tolled, and the private tolling
agreement shall be enforceable in any court of competent
jurisdiction.
(6) The employee and employer disputants shall not
have more than 90 days within which to resolve the dis-
pute.
(7) Should mediation prove unsuccessful, the em-
ployer shall again inform the employee-disputant of their
rights, in writing including the right to pursue the matter
under any applicable State, county, local ordinance, or
Federal statutes.
(8) Consistent with section 705 of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis-
sion, and any State or local authority involved in pro-
ceedings described in section 706, shall offer technical as-
sistance to any unrepresented or self-represented party,
provided that a formal complaint has been filed with the
Commission or such authority. Such assistance shall in-
clude, but not be limited to—
(A) pre-mediation counseling,
(B) assistance in understanding the status of
relevant case law,
(C) assistance in what would be the appropriate
remedy if the instant claim were to be found to have
merit, and
(D) assistance in drafting any post-mediation
settlement agreement or resolution.
(9) Submission of a claim for mediation shall not pre-
clude either the claimant or respondent from seeking other
appropriate relief on that claim, except that neither party
shall seek other relief until the mediation process has con-
cluded.
(10) Any settlement as a result of the mediation proc-
ess shall be strictly voluntary and remain confidential ex-
cept for research and evaluation purposes.
(11) In every case, the privacy, privilege, and con-
fidentiality of all parties to the dispute shall be preserved,
including complaint intake personnel and mediation con-
sultations.
(c) ATTORNEY’S OBLIGATION TO ADVISE CLIENTS
OF MEDIATION.—For the purposes of this Act and all of
the other related statutes, attorneys and consultants are
legally obliged to advise their clients of the existence of
the mediation alternative and their obligations under the
Act to participate in mediation in ‘‘good faith’’.
(d) JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT.—Either party to a
mediation agreement to bring an action of enforcement in