Tag: Employment Mediation

Sunset in Albufera of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

Darkness and Mediation

{3 minutes to read} Someone once asked me what the key was to resolving a case in mediation. My answer was simple: “It starts getting dark out.” Funny perhaps, but truth is implicit in all humor. One of those truths is that almost all people participating in a mediation want it to succeed. Including those who say on the first phone call, “You know, there’s no way this case can settle.”

A related metaphor to the above is that mediation usually sheds light on things, though it doesn’t happen all at once. Facts emerge, positions get revealed, as do the reasons for those positions, and positions morph over time. Settlements are reached for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that everyone just wants to get it over with. Sometimes that happens in a day, several days, weeks, or even months. The desire to get a conflict over with and move on can often be quite a beneficial stimulus to resolving a case. And “when it gets dark out,” people say all sorts of things they couldn’t or wouldn’t have said at the start.

Who Needs to be There: Employment Mediation

Two businessmen talking in conference room

{4 minutes to read} As Tolstoy once said, all mediations are different because they all involve elements of unhappiness that need to be addressed. He did not directly write about who needs to be present or why at an employment mediation, but I’ll now tie up this little series on who needs to be present at a mediation. I have previously addressed this issue in the context of construction, divorce, and personal injury.

Employment mediations generally involve an unhappy employer and an even more unhappy ex-employee. Or an employee who was demoted, or not promoted, or has been harassed, etc. Cases can arise from an alleged breach of contract or discrimination based on age, race, sex, etc. The employer believes the actions it took regarding the employee were proper. The employee thinks otherwise. Add to this the fact that there may be multiple employees, not just one, complaining about the employer’s actions.

So, who does need to be present at the mediation for these cases to be resolved? The subtle but revealing answer is: It depends.

Seeing the Light

Open road on abstract screen against door opening revealing light

{3 minutes to read} Wow, Daylight Savings Time. At last. Was there ever a time we needed some extra light more than now? Even though changing the clock doesn’t really give us more daylight, we all feel better when it’s still light out at 7 pm. Or later. Shedding light on things is generally seen as something good. It implies opening up and understanding. It’s also one of the great aspects of mediation. It’s why mediation works.

To the Zoomiverse and Beyond

William Shakespeare in period clothing sitting in school desk with laptop computer.

{4 minutes to read} I’ve written before about the Zoomiverse and mediation. So far, so good. No one has yet said: Boy, I can’t wait until we can all travel to and from a mediation and maybe have a client, or clients, fly-in only to find out that someone couldn’t make it at the last minute. Apparently, no one is overwhelmed by the benefit of sitting down at the table together, shaking hands, and exchanging angry glances with someone only a few feet away.

Moving from Factual Exploration to Resolution

Fun Fact Trivia - Zebras are actually black with white stripes not white with black stripes

{4 minutes to read} My last blog addressed the relationship between “fake news” and mediation. I posited that resolving a dispute through mediation typically does not result from the parties agreeing on the “truth” or the facts underlying the dispute. Assuming that’s the case, what are the implications?

Here’s one: In general, I find that divorce mediations take longer than most other kinds of mediations. That’s not because divorcing couples take longer to agree on or figure out the relevant facts than, say, commercial litigants. More often than not, divorcing couples can eventually agree on their financial circumstances.

Employment Mediation: How Long Does It Take?

{4 minutes to read} This is the third of four blog posts about how long a mediation should be expected to take. Spoiler alert: The answer for each is “It Depends.” The first two blogs addressed commercial and divorce mediations. This one will address employment mediations.

Employment mediations often have something in common with divorce mediations. The parties have had an ongoing relationship that has fizzled. There is almost always anger and resentment from the plaintiff/former employee, and even from the employer, who typically feels its actions were justified. Think of the spouse who initiates the divorce as the employer and the spouse who wants to remain married as the employee. Like marriages, employers and employees often stay connected even after the relationship has soured.

Employment Mediation — If Not Now, When?

{3:30 minutes to read} I recently had a conversation with two attorneys in an employment matter that came my way through a court annexed mediation program that automatically sends all employment cases to mediation.

I have written before about the benefits of “mandatory mediation,” which until somewhat recently was often thought of as an oxymoron. One axiom of mediation has been that the parties are in charge of the process, including the decision whether or not to mediate. However, it turns out this theory has some flaws. The most serious is that many litigants would love to try to resolve their cases early on, but don’t want to make the first move in suggesting mediation for fear it will be a sign of weakness.

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