Grievance Mediation

Grievance Mediation is a more informal and non-precedent setting way of resolving contractual disputes.  Grievance Mediation is available to both the public and private sectors.

Accessing the Bureau’s Grievance Mediation process is simple.  You can submit a “Request for Grievance Mediation Form” to the Bureau’s resource account email, call or email the Harrisburg Bureau Office, or just reach out to one of our staff.  A mediator will be assigned to your case and contact both sides to schedule a grievance mediation hearing as soon as practical.  The timing and location of the hearing will depend on when everyone that needs to participate in the process is available.

Since Grievance Mediation is a voluntary process, the Bureau of Mediation will require the submission of an official request form signed by representatives of both parties before proceeding with a mediation hearing.  This form can be found from the blue “Mediation Forms” button on the Bureau’s main page.

The process for Grievance Mediation is as follows: 

1. Facts Presentation: During the hearing, the mediator will listen to the narratives of both parties and ask questions to understand the nature of the dispute, letting people explain their side of the story.
2. Flexibility: The mediator allows both sides to share their story freely, without strict rules like in a court trial or an arbitration process.
3. Settlement Attempt: After hearing both sides, the mediator works to develop a mutually acceptable solution and help the parties memorialize a settlement.
4. Next Steps: If we are unsuccessful in finding an acceptable resolution, the parties can still go to arbitration without any negative effects.  The mediation process is confidential and will not prejudice any further dispute proceedings.

• Cooperation: When an agreement is acheived, both sides voluntarily agree on the terms instead of a decision being made for them. Both parties maintain greater control over the outcome than they would in a binding arbitration process.
• Speed: Grievance mediation happens relatively quickly and efficiently.
• Cost: The Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation's services are free for both sides.
• Fair Process: The person with the complaint gets to tell their side of the story, gets a sense of due process from a neutral third party, and is part of the process of finding a solution everyone can accept.
• No Precedent: What happens in mediation doesn't establish potential outcomes for future disputes unless otherwise agreed upon.
• Flexibility: The mediator has more latitude to find solutions that will work for both sides than might be available to professional neutrals in other forums.
• Efficiency: Fewer cases go to arbitration, making the process faster, less expensive, and many times, less of an adversarial process than binding arbitration.