Government and Court-Annexed Mediation

Some situations involve several stakeholder groups who share a common dilemma, such as whether to build a nuclear power plant in their community or how to manage the declining population of a particular species of animal on public lands. For example, the Department of the Interior uses mediation to involve the public_ in decision-making processes. The Department of Agriculture participates in mediation with farmers who have violated environmental rules or have past due loans. Government officials negotiate the creation and enforce­ ment of rules in a process called negotiated rule-making (neg-reg), where businesses, individuals, or other entities who violate regulations meet and create a plan for future compliance. Federal regulation requires each state to over­ see mediation processes to aid parents and school districts to resolve special education disputes.

In the western United States, mediation and arbitration established who has first rights to scarce water resources. Courts refer many types of civil and criminal cases to media­ tion, including eviction courts that encourage landlords and tenants to create an amicable plan for departure from a rental unit (rather than having the sheriff force an eviction). Home foreclosure mediation has emerged as a means of keeping families in their homes during an upside down real estate market. State taxation entities and the Internal Revenue Service use mediators when negotiating past due taxes. The REDRESS© program has been adopted by the U.S. Postal Services to mediate Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) conflicts. Some organizations have professional conflict managers on retainer should a potentially volatile workplace conflict arise. Internationally, mediators meet with cultural and political rivals to negotiate innu­ merable issues-including matters of war and peace.