National Employment Dispute Resolution Act of 2000 (NEDRA)

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 employment 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 cooperative 
        methods of resolving employment disputes.
            (3) Mediation enables disputants to craft creative 
        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 mediation where any 
        settlement is voluntary mandated mediation for certain 
        employment and contract disputes, 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 noneconomic costs to 
        employers and the American workforce, create a barrier to fully 
        realizing equal opportunity 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 discrimination without the necessity of the employee 
        taking some form of legal action against the employer,
            (2) in accordance with the various public policies 
        encouraging the use of mediation, to make mediation available 
        at an early stage of an employment dispute, thus--
                    (A) possibly reducing economic and noneconomic 
                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 justice system, and
            (3) to provide that the participation in mediation shall 
        not preclude either the employee-disputant or covered employer-
        disputant from having access 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 investigation under 
this subsection, the Commission shall provide counseling services 
regarding, and endeavor to responsibly address and resolve, claims of 
unlawful discrimination using certified contract mediators.'', and
            (2) in section 711(a) by adding at the end the following:
``Every employer, employment agency, and labor organization shall 
provide to each employee and each member, individually, 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--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' after ``Sec. 718'', and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance shall endeavor to 
responsibly address and resolve any alleged discrimination using 
mediation with respect to which this section applies.
    ``(c) An employer who establishes, implements an approved internal 
conflict management program or system providing the use of a certified 
mediator participates in mediation under this section shall be given 
preferred status in contract bidding for additional and for maintaining 
current Federal Government contracts.
    ``(d) An employer who is a party to a Government contract or the 
agency of the United States shall assume the costs of mediation under 
this section, including the fees of the mediator and any travel and 
lodging expenses of the employee, if such travel exceeds 25 miles, one 
way. Any settlement shall include, among other things, any appropriate 
and reasonable attorney fees.
    ``(e) Retaliation by an employer who is a party to a Government 
contract or the agency of the United States, or the destruction of 
evidence, shall result in the imposition of appropriate civil or 
criminal sanctions. The participation in mediation shall be at the 
option of the employee. The participation in mediation shall not 
preclude the employee's access to any State, local, or Federal EEO 
enforcement agency or any State or Federal court.
    ``(f) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance shall have 
authority over employers who are parties to Government contracts that 
fail to comply with this section. Failure to comply shall result in the 
loss of a current Government 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 contract and a labor union or certified bargaining 
representative. Any voluntary settlement outcome and agreement may not 
be in conflict with the collective bargaining agreement.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT 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 sentence the 
        following:
``The Commission shall provide counseling services regarding, 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 following:
``Every employer, employment agency, and labor organization shall 
provide to each employee and each member, individually, 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 enterprise 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 nonattorney, who is trained in the 
        mediation process and has a demonstrable working knowledge in 
        relevant 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 mediation 
                training of 40 or more hours, or
                    (B) has co-mediated with or been supervised 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'' includes 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 limited to, the American Arbitration Association, the 
        American Bar Association, the Center for Employment 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 program 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 without 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 thereof, 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 statute 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 dispute.
    (7) Should mediation prove unsuccessful, the employer 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 Commission, and any State or local 
authority involved in proceedings described in section 706, shall offer 
technical assistance to any unrepresented or self-represented party, 
provided that a formal complaint has been filed with the Commission or 
such authority. Such assistance shall include, 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 preclude 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 concluded.
    (10) Any settlement as a result of the mediation process shall be 
strictly voluntary and remain confidential except for research and 
evaluation purposes.
    (11) In every case, the privacy, privilege, and confidentiality of 
all parties to the dispute shall be preserved, including complaint 
intake personnel and mediation consultations.
    (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 a Federal district court of competent 
jurisdiction, however any matter discussed or material presented during 
mediation shall not be used in any subsequent local, State, or Federal 
administrative or court proceeding. The confidential provisions of any 
internal conflict management program or system or agreement to 
mediations shall be immune from attack by any third party.

Summary: Mandates that any Federal agency or court (or business enterprise receiving $20,000 or more in Federal funds, or having 20 or more employees): (1) establish an internal dispute resolution mechanism that provides, as a voluntary option, employee-disputant access to external third-party certified mediators; and (2) participate in mediation in specified circumstances. Prescribes mediation guidelines.
States that attorneys and consultants are legally obligated to advise their clients of the mediation alternative and their obligations to participate in "good faith".