Mediation: A Brief Overview

Mediation is a voluntary process offered by OHR to address new charges of discrimination prior to investigation. The purpose is to provide the parties an opportunity to resolve their differences, eliminating the need for an investigation. All parties must agree to meet for mediation sessions.

A very important note to remember is that a mediation session is not a formal hearing nor is it a forum for discovery or cross examination. It is simply a forum for resolution. Each party may state their position, i.e., the reason they believe discrimination did or did not occur, and those statements should be limited to the issues raised in the charge.

The Mediator, an OHR staff member, issues and maintains the appropriate documents, e.g., a negotiated settlement agreement which is obviously the desired result of participating in a mediation session.

Mediation sessions are private and confidential; barring legal representatives and the parties to the dispute, other persons may attend only with the consent of both parties and the Mediator.

No record of any kind is made of the mediation session and no person shall electronically record any portion of the session.

If mediation efforts are not successful within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the OHR, the charge will be forwarded to the Investigation Unit for investigation and/or conciliation.