EEOC Embraces Online Dispute Resolution
As practitioners of employment law will tell, the EEOC moved deep into online mediations (sometimes called virtual mediations) when the pandemic struck. But, at the time, it was widely accepted that such a move was temporary and, soon enough, we would be back to in-person, face-to-face mediations.
Or will we?
Two recent studies were undertaken by the EEOC to gauge people’s reactions to online mediation. The reactions were good:
Procedural Justice measures show that 86% of Charging Parties (“CPs”) and 94% of Employers view the ODR procedures used by EEOC mediators as fair.
Ninety-two percent of CPs and 98% of Employers would use EEOC ODR mediation again.
Nearly 70% of the participants prefer ODR to IPM for a future mediation even where IPM is offered by the EEOC. Only 13% preferred IPM in the future.
A majority of mediators saw similar or better quality and value of settlements for both parties in ODR.
There is little mediator observation of “Zoom fatigue”.
There is little evidence of technology issues interfering with the overall quality and results of the mediation
Since its implementation through fiscal year 2021, the agency has held nearly 249,000 mediations, resolved almost 180,000 private sector charges, and obtained monetary benefits of more than $3.15 billion for charging parties through this process. In fiscal year 2021 alone, the agency conducted 6,644 successful mediations resulting in $176.6 million in benefits to charging parties—an increase in both the number of successful mediations and the monetary benefits recovered from the prior fiscal year.
Safe to say, online dispute resolution is here to stay.
To read the two studies, click here and click here. To read the EEOC’s press release, click here.
