Why Mediate? 

Mediation is increasingly important today. It requires far less in legal fees and other costs as compared to the expense of litigation, and the mediation process is private and confidential. When done correctly, mediation can be an effective and efficient way to resolve a dispute. It almost always saves parties money and brings closure to an emotional, stressful legal situation. Arguably most importantly, mediation allows the parties on both sides to retain control over the outcome.

Why Mediate an Employment Dispute?

Mediation is a particularly effective tool in resolving employment-related disputes. When an employee makes a claim against his or her employer, it is almost always in the interest of both parties to attempt to resolve the matter early. While any kind of litigation can be expensive, time-consuming and disruptive, employment litigation in particular can be very personal and emotional for parties on both sides. The financial and emotional costs, disruption to the workplace and individuals’ lives, and investment of substantial time and resources for a prolonged period of time -- all inherent in employment disputes -- have dramatically diminished the effectiveness of litigation in resolving workplace disputes.

Mediation allows the expression of the emotional aspects unique to employment disputes. Plaintiff-employees need to know that they are being listened to and taken seriously. The mediation process gives the employee the opportunity to vent and to feel as if he or she has had his or her day in court. Mediation also can help employees understand when their employment situations may have been poorly handled but not necessarily illegally. It may become clearer to an employee through mediation that resolution through settlement is likely to be more beneficial and satisfying than one determined by a judge or jury. Defendant-employers, on the other hand, often feel that discrimination or harassment complaints are unjustified and that they are being unfairly accused. Employers and managers typically believe at the outset of a dispute that the complaint is without merit and must be vigorously defended. Yet as trial nears the case is often settled, after the costs and burdens of litigation and trial preparation have already been incurred. The mediation process allows managers to vent and gradually see the dispute in a more impartial way, thereby enabling them and their companies to make better business decisions on how to resolve the dispute.

For businesses, few controversies are more damaging – not just financially but also emotionally – than a dispute with an employee. Handling the dispute and managing the ensuing litigation can disrupt the business and distract and unnerve even the strongest and most efficient management team. Companies and their managers who insist on defending litigation rather than trying to resolve it often underestimate the consequences of litigation and the psychological effect it may have on existing employees and the business. Once begun, litigation is often difficult to stop as each step of the litigation process leads to the next. Many employers have found themselves resolving cases on the courthouse steps after extensive financial, emotional and political costs have already been spent.