Insurers Urged To Use EEOC Mediation

Ms. Silverman made her remarks at a symposium in New York on Professional Liability/Employment Practices Liability given by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society for lawyers and accountants.

She reported that last year, while 83 percent of the parties who filed charges with the agency agreed to mediation, only 33 percent of employers agreed to participate. Currently, only about a third of all charges eligible for mediation are actually mediated, she added.

Ms. Silverman said that for those who have taken advantage of the mediation program, there has been a 66 percent "settlement success rate" and an average processing time of 84 days.

She added that the "overwhelming majority" of parties that have used the EEOC mediation program were satisfied with the process "and would use it again."

However, Ms. Silverman also suggested that many of the smaller employers do not choose mediation either because they do not trust the EEOC mediation process or because they don't know about it.

To ensure fairness, there is a "firewall " between the mediation program and the EEOC's other activities, including investigations, she stated.

She said that in her new position she would try to further the goal of having the EEOC fairly and efficiently administer the anti-employment discrimination laws. Ms. Silverman acknowledged that this is an important interest not only for employees but also for employers, attorneys and insurers.

She also reported that that EEOC continues to receive more than 80,000 charges against employers each year. These charges break down as follows- with overlap among the categories:

? 35 percent are race-related.

? 30 percent are gender-related.

? 20 percent are disability-related.

? 20 percent are age discrimination claims.

? 10 percent are national origin claims.

? Two percent are religious discrimination claims, a category "which spiked since Sept. 11," driven by complaints by persons of Middle Eastern background, Ms. Silverman revealed.

She went on to describe the EEOC's "proactive prevention" program, under which the agency strongly encourages voluntary compliance with equal employment laws and regulations.

She said that through technology and various working alliances and partnerships within and outside the government, the EEOC is trying to "get the word out" to employers, particularly the smaller ones, "better and faster" about their legal obligations and available EEOC resources.

Ms. Silverman also talked about the EEOC's "proficient resolution" program. This is an effort to deliver faster and less expensive resolutions to charges, she explained.

One part of the effort she described is the ongoing consolidation of EEOC intake, investigation, mediation, litigation and outreach activities "into a single shared data system."

As an example of this new system, she referred to the EEOC's new "Code Z" tracking system for employment discrimination charges made by Moslems, Arabs, Sikhs and South Asians after Sept. 11. "At last count, 488 of these charges had been filed," Ms. Silverman revealed, adding that the number keeps growing.