Houston LERA 11-03-2022 "Employment Dispute Resolution Revolution"

Employment Dispute Resolution Revolution – Online Dispute Resolution/Mediations at the EEOC and the FMCS The COVID-19 Pandemic required the EEOC and FMCS to transition to Online Dispute Resolution (“ODR”). First, external program evaluators will present robust data establishing that ODR is successful across a wide range of measures. Then, a panel of experienced EEOC and FMCS mediators will address these results. Attendees will be presented with emerging data collected this past year, along with insights into how mediations succeed in a virtual environment and maximize its benefits. This presentation will raise the issue of whether mediation returns to an in-person format or evolves into new patterns of mediation service. We are applying for Texas Attorney MCLE credits. Presenters EEOC – Jennifer Ortiz Prather (Supervisory Attorney for ADR, Houston District Office, EEOC) and Dr. E. Patrick McDermott is a Professor of Management and Legal Studies at the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business. In 1999-2000 he was part of a team that evaluated the EEOC mediation program. He has written a book and numerous law review and peer-reviewed journal articles on workplace conflict and legal issues. This includes articles using the comprehensive EEOC database. He recently completed a comprehensive survey of EEOC mediators and parties concerning the use of Online Dispute Resolution at EEOC. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Law in 2007-2008 in Shanghai China at the East China University of Politics and Law and in 2018-2019 at the University of Bucharest School of Law. Prior to joining academe, he was Associate General Counsel at ABC/Disney in New York City. He holds a B.S. and M.S. (Collective Bargaining) from Cornell ILR, a JD from Rutgers-Newark School of Law, an LL.M in Taxation from NYU Law and a Ph.D. in Human Resources Management from The George Washington University. FMCS – Walter Darr (FMCS Field Operations Manager for Region 5 which includes responsibility for about 20 FMCS Commissioners in about 16 states)