|
Print Policy Attachments: |
|
Informal Mediation Program1.0 POLICY 2.0 PROCEDURES A. Oversight and Administration. The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Informal Mediation Program shall be administered by the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Campus Coordinator.
B. Mediators. The Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution shall be nominated by vice presidents, deans, department chairs, and division directors for appointment by the President and shall include current Medical College of Georgia faculty, students, and staff. Each nominee must successfully complete an appropriate course designed to train mediators (such courses should normally include a total of 20 hours of instruction and mock mediations). The Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution will act as a neutral group to identify disputes that would benefit from mediation and direct others to appropriate alternative MCG resources. If needed, the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution may request funding to pay the expenses involved in obtaining proper training and experience for potential mediators. At times, it may be appropriate to obtain a mediator from off‑campus. In these instances, the Campus Coordinator should contact other institutions within the University System to obtain a neutral mediator. The Campus Coordinator may request funds to reimburse this off‑campus mediator for their travel. If other institutions within the University System request the services of mediators from the Medical College of Georgia, the requesting institution must pay the expenses involved in our mediator's travel. When an outside mediator is necessary, the manager’s School or Department shall be obligated to pay the cost of the mediation. Upon the request of the Campus Coordinator, mediators shall arrange an appropriate time and place to conduct the mediation in question, obtain the participants' written consent per Exhibit "C" and conduct the mediation in accordance with their best professional judgment. C. Mediations. Participation in mediations shall be voluntary. However, managers are strongly advised to include mediation, where appropriate, in the early stages of a dispute before it results in a grievance. Failure to do so may subject the manager to required mediation prior to taking any final disciplinary action against an employee. Time spent in mediations shall be considered part of an employee's normal working time. Employees shall not be required to take annual or other leave to participate in mediation, and supervisors are strongly discouraged from authorizing the use of overtime for mediations. Supervisors shall make reasonable efforts to make employees available to participate in mediation. The Mediation Program shall be available for disputes between members of the MCG community of faculty, students and staff, with the following exceptions:
Both the mediators and the parties should normally consider the statements made during mediation to be private, and the mediator shall normally destroy any notes kept during the mediation. However, there is no legal privilege which protects the statements made during mediations, and all participants, including the mediators themselves, are required to report statements which reveal conduct which is criminal or which poses a significant risk to the safety of others or the proper operation of the Medical College of Georgia. The parties to mediation should reduce their resolution of their dispute(s) to writing. Such written agreements must be consistent with the rules and policies of the Medical College of Georgia. If appropriate, the mediator should remind the parties of the limits of their authority, and of the possible need to discuss their proposed resolution with their supervisors or with other departments on campus which may be affected or involved. Date: 26 December 1996 | Rev. No: 01-1 | Rev. Date: 1 December 2001 | No. 1.4.30 |
|
©
Medical College of Georgia |
Administrative Policies
& Procedures January 10, 2003 |