On October 29, 2026, FMCS published a final rule in the Federal Register, updating part of its arbitration regulations, 29 C.F.R. § Part 1404. This final rule clarified that the FMCS Office of Arbitration (OA) will not provide any service that FMCS “may not lawfully provide.” To this end, the final rule allows for OA to “conduct a limited threshold inquiry to determine whether [providing a service] would be inconsistent with applicable law, a court order, or FMCS’s statutory or regulatory authority.”
FMCS thanks the commenters on this rule for their helpful input, some of which FMCS adopted into the final rule. These adoptions included clarifications that the threshold inquiry will be “limited to whether FMCS may lawfully provide the requested service”; that “[a] party’s contention that a grievance lacks merit, is untimely, or is not arbitrable under the parties’ agreement, or a party’s disagreement with a grievance or unwillingness to participate in the arbitration, does not by itself establish” that FMCS cannot lawfully provide the requested service; and that requests placed in abeyance under the new rule will be eligible for a refund or credit for any fees paid.