The Mediation Association of Colorado Ethics Committee (Committee) serves on behalf of The Mediation Association of Colorado (theMAC) in promoting the highest professional standards of mediation practice and conduct. The Committee fosters greater public understanding and trust in the mediation process and in theMAC members (Members) and serves as a resource to address actual or hypothetical questions regarding mediation. To these ends, the Committee:
- provides educational information and opportunities;
- responds to inquiries and requests for written opinions;
- helps parties resolve complaints at the lowest possible level.
References
The Colorado Dispute Resolution Act, Section 13-22-301 et seq., Colorado Revised Statute;
Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (AAA-ABA-ACR 2005).
Definitions
Ethics: The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc. (http://dictionary.reference.com).
Mediation: A process in which an impartial, trained, neutral third party facilitates the resolution of a dispute by assisting the parties to reach voluntary agreement. A mediator promotes communication and understanding, focuses the parties on their interests, and assists them in developing options to make informed decisions. A mediator does not have authority to make decisions for or impose a settlement on the parties.
Participant: An individual in a mediation or related dispute resolution process who is not a Party yet participates on behalf of one of the Parties or in support of the process, such as a legal or personal representative or observer.
Party: An individual or entity named in a dispute who participates in a mediation or related dispute resolution process.
Committee Structure
The Committee consists of at least two and not more than nine Members serving on behalf of theMAC. The Chair is chosen by the Committee, and is also an ex officio member of theMAC Board of Directors (Board).
Committee Procedures
Education: The Committee holds as a primary objective the education of Members and the public about professional standards of mediation practice and conduct. To this end, it serves as a resource and responds to all questions from Members and the public. The Committee may publicize actual cases to illustrate mediation situations through articles, classes, workshops, and/or case studies. In presenting such cases, the Committee eliminates or alters personal or private information to maintain confidentiality.
Inquiries: Any person may make an inquiry about actual or hypothetical mediation practice or conduct. Inquiring parties can contact the Committee via mail, email, phone or fax as detailed on the contact page of the CCMO website (http://www.coloradomediation.org/).
The Committee attempts to communicate with inquiring parties promptly to provide information, answer questions, resolve concerns, or offer verbal opinion. All inquiries remain confidential. The Committee does not notify, inform, or take action against a referenced Member based on an inquiry.
Requests for Written Opinion: Any person may request a written opinion about actual or hypothetical mediation practice or conduct. Requesting parties must contact the Committee in writing via mail, email or fax as detailed on the contact page of the Website. They must provide their name, contact information, and details of the request. The Committee does not consider anonymous requests for written opinion.
The Committee attempts to respond to requesting parties promptly with a written opinion. All requests remain confidential, and the Committee does not notify, inform, or take action against a referenced Member based on a request.
Use of Inquiries and Written Opinions: The Committee provides responses to inquiries and written opinions for educational purposes and will not investigate or verify the information submitted. Therefore, the Committee does not consider or use, nor intend others to use, any information provided as evidence in any legal action involving Members.
Grievances: Any Party may file a grievance against a Member regarding a Mediation. Members agree when joining theMAC to participate in this procedure and be subject to any action that the Committee may recommend or the Board may impose. The Committee has sole discretion to determine whether Member conduct is appropriate and what action it recommends. Should the Committee recommend membership termination, the Board will make the final decision.
To initiate the grievance process, the party (Complainant) must contact the Committee in writing within 180 calendar days of the end of the mediation. The Complainant must use theMAC Grievance Form. Please submit the form via email or print and mail to: theMAC, PO Box 11696, Denver, CO 80211. Please provide the name and contact information of all involved in the mediation, as well as detailed information about the complaint. The Committee does not consider anonymous complaints.
The Committee responds to a grievance as follows:
Level 1: A Committee member explores the complaint, gathers information from the Complainant, and attempts to resolve the grievance. The Committee member may contact the Complainant, other Participants, and/or the Member. For a resolution to take effect, the Complainant must withdraw the grievance in writing.
Level 2: Should the Committee be unable to resolve the matter at Level 1, it then offers the Complainant and Member the opportunity to mediate the complaint. If they agree to mediate, the Committee assigns the case to a Member (or Members if co-mediation is appropriate) not previously involved in the matter. The Mediation Association of Colorado compensates the mediator at no cost to the Complainant or the Member.
Level 3: Should the Complainant and Member not pursue mediation, or mediation not resolve all issues to their satisfaction, the Committee then selects a panel of three Members not involved in earlier resolution efforts. At least one of the panel must be a Committee member, unless all Committee members are unavailable or have conflicts of interest. The Committee may select panel members based on experience, content knowledge, availability, or any other factors.
The panel then convenes a hearing and formulates recommendations to settle the grievance. It may conduct pre-hearing conferences; collect, share and review pre-hearing documents; and decide who attends the hearing. The panel communicates with everyone simultaneously. It may share information with the Committee and the Board on a need-to-know basis but otherwise maintains confidentiality. After the panel terminates the hearing, it sends its written recommendation to the Committee for final disposition that may:
- deny the grievance based on lack of information or substantiation;
- uphold the grievance in whole or part, and recommend the Member take specific action, such as making an apology, returning all or a portion of the mediation fee, agreeing in writing to commit to or refrain from specific action in the future, or agreeing to such action as the panel deems appropriate; or
- uphold the grievance deemed of such severity to recommend to the Committee the termination of membership.
The Committee reviews the panel recommendation and may alter it based not on the finding of fact but on the severity of recommended action. It then conveys its final recommendation via mail simultaneously to the Complainant and Member within ten business days after the hearing terminates. The Committee maintains responsibility to monitor the Member’s compliance with its recommendation.
If a Member does not abide by the recommendation of the Committee, or if there were to be multiple grievances filed against the Member that the Committee found to demonstrate a pattern of inappropriate Member conduct, the Committee may require additional action by the Member, or may recommend that the Board terminate membership.
