Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 101 - PERSONNEL › Chapter 2 - Personnel Cabinet, Classified › Section 101 KAR 2:230 - Kentucky Employee Mediation Program

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				18A.030(2)(i),
				18A.110
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				18A.110 authorizes the Secretary of Personnel
				to promulgate administrative regulations that develop programs to improve the
				work effectiveness of state employees. This administrative regulation
				establishes the operational procedures for the Kentucky Employee Mediation and
				Workplace Resolution Programs.
Section
			 1. Establishment of the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program
			 (KEMP).
(1) The Personnel Cabinet shall
			 establish and administer the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program to coordinate
			 mediations and the State Government Mediator Pool, as established in subsection
			 (4) of this section, in state agencies and provide them with additional
			 services.
(2) Eligibility for
			 services.
(a) An employee or supervisor may
			 request mediation services through the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program in
			 order to resolve workplace issues. The request shall be made using the
			 Mediation Request Form.
(b)
			 Participation by all parties involved in the mediation sessions shall be
			 voluntary. Each party shall sign an agreement to mediate and the original,
			 signed agreement shall be kept in the mediation file.
(c) Employees shall be entitled to obtain
			 mediation services without interference, coercion, or reprisal.
(d) Participation in mediation sessions shall
			 not require the use of accrued leave time if the employee has obtained prior
			 approval of the supervisor or appointing authority.
(e) Participation in mediation shall not
			 preclude an agency from taking disciplinary or corrective action as needed in
			 dealing with job behavior or job performance problems.
(f) Participation in a mediation shall not
			 affect the filing timeframes for a grievance with the cabinet or agency or on
			 appeal with the Personnel Board.
(3) Mediation session procedures.
(a) Mediation sessions shall be conducted by
			 mediators in the State Government Mediator Pool who do not work in the
			 participant's employing agency.
(b)
			 Mediation sessions shall be scheduled by the Kentucky Employee Mediation
			 Program after receipt of the request to participate at a time convenient for
			 all participants.
(c) The Kentucky
			 Employee Mediation Program shall provide the participants with the names of all
			 mediators assigned to the session. The participants may request another
			 mediator if the appointed mediator has a conflict of interest.
(d) The participants shall ensure that all
			 parties who have the authority to approve and implement the final mediation
			 agreement are present at the mediation.
(e) Participation in mediation shall
			 constitute an agreement by the parties that all offers of compromise, promises
			 and statements made in the course of the mediation session shall not be offered
			 as evidence or argument at any subsequent hearing or trial of the subject
			 matter of the dispute.
(f) The
			 content of the mediation sessions shall remain confidential as permitted by
			 state and federal law.
(g) All
			 contents of the official mediation file, including original, signed final
			 agreements, shall be the property of the Kentucky Employee Mediation
			 Program.
(h) Certified mediators
			 shall not be subject to participation in any subsequent proceedings regarding
			 the mediated matter.
(i) The
			 Kentucky Employee Mediation Program or the mediator may decline the request for
			 mediation for reasonable cause, issue a continuance of the mediation, or
			 terminate a mediation session.
(j)
			 Final mediation agreements shall be reduced to writing and signed by the
			 mediator and participants.
(k) All
			 final mediation agreements or reports from mediations referred by the Personnel
			 Board shall be filed with the board by the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program.
(l) The Kentucky Employee Mediation
			 Program shall not oversee compliance with final mediation agreements.
(m) Upon request and following the conclusion
			 of the mediation session, the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program may provide
			 written confirmation of participation to the participant's supervisors or
			 appointing authority.
(4) State Government Mediator Pool.
(a) The Kentucky Employee Mediation Program
			 shall establish and provide oversight for the State Government Mediator Pool
			 including training, certification, and technical assistance services.
(b) The State Government Mediator Pool shall
			 consist of state government employees who volunteer to serve and who have been
			 certified by the Kentucky Employee Mediation Program.
(c) The Kentucky Employee Mediation Program
			 shall establish specific certification criteria based on completion of the
			 following:
1. Minimum of fifty (50) hours of
			 general mediation training, to include classroom training, mediation
			 observation, mediation participation, or professional continuing education as
			 approved by the program manager;
2.
			 Minimum of six (6) hours of continuing education per year; and
3. Compliance with the Kentucky Employee
			 Mediation Program's Standards of Professional Conduct.
(d) The Kentucky Employee Mediation Program
			 shall not certify any person as a mediator if the criteria of paragraph (c) of
			 this subsection are not met.
(e) A
			 mediator may use state time to conduct mediation sessions with the approval of
			 the appointing authority. The mediator's employing agency shall pay travel
			 expenses in accordance with the provisions of
			 200 KAR
			 2:006.
(f)
			 The Kentucky Employee Mediation Program shall maintain a current listing of
			 certified state government mediators.