The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued a press release detailing its National Universal Agreement to Mediate with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. The press release is available at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/9-27-11.cfm. More than 200 national and regional private sector employers, including several Fortune 500 companies, have entered into similar mediation agreements with the EEOC. These mediation agreements provide non-adversarial frameworks for employers to resolve workplace disputes with employees. Such agreements can save employers the expense and the time of going through the EEOC investigation process and can help employers avoid discrimination lawsuits.
The EEOC is the federal agency charged with enforcing the federal laws that make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees. The EEOC’s mediation process can help an employer and an employee resolve issues related to employment discrimination informally and confidentially. The EEOC’s mediation process avoids the risks associated with a courtroom trial and allows an employer and an employee to reach a solution that benefits both parties.
Since implementing the EEOC’s National Mediation Program in 1999, more than 136,000 charges of employment discrimination have been mediated. Nearly 70% of those mediations resulted in a successful resolution. The EEOC remains focused on expanding its mediation efforts to improve its overall efficiency and effectiveness.
For more information about mediating an employment law dispute or to speak with an employment law mediator and lawyer, contact the Texas employment law attorneys at Clouse Dunn LLP at info@clousedunn.com.