FMCS today announced it will begin administrative management of the Federal Shared Neutrals Program, an interagency collaborative effort in support of alternative dispute resolution, formerly operated as Sharing Neutrals by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). FMCS will administer the program in the National Capital Region, including the Washington, DC area and Baltimore, in coordination with participating federal agencies that contribute to, and make use of, a pool of collateral-duty federal employees to mediate cases outside their own agency. In many regions of the country, Federal Executive Boards (FEBs) have created individual programs modeled after the DC-based program but run through each FEB. These programs will continue separate operations, except for those who may wish to have FMCS administer their regional SN program.
Annually, the SN Program provides workplace mediation services at little or no cost for approximately 250 cases across more than 50 participating agencies and sub-agencies. This has been a very successful relationship supported by a pool of more than 250 collateral-duty federal employees who are dedicated to assisting in the resolution of workplace disputes.
To learn more about using Shared Neutrals services, or joining the program, contact the Shared Neutrals Program Coordinator at (202) 796-1533, email sharedneutrals@fmcs.gov, or visit our information page at www.fmcs.gov/sharedneutrals.