PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Lets agencies and people use neutrals to help settle disputes and sets simple rules for who they are and how they are used. A neutral is a person—either a federal worker or someone the parties accept—who helps resolve a disagreement. Neutrals must not have official, money, or personal conflicts about the dispute unless they put that conflict in writing and everyone agrees. Mediators, facilitators, or conciliators work as long as the parties want them. The President must pick an agency or create a committee to promote these methods and to make it easier and faster to get neutrals. Agencies can lend employees to act as neutrals and may agree to be paid back. Agencies can also hire outside people for neutral services or training. The parties must agree on pay that is fair and reasonable to the Government.

Title 5, §573

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A neutral may be a permanent or temporary officer or employee of the Federal Government or any other individual who is acceptable to the parties to a dispute resolution proceeding. A neutral shall have no official, financial, or personal conflict of interest with respect to the issues in controversy, unless such interest is fully disclosed in writing to all parties and all parties agree that the neutral may serve.

(b)A neutral who serves as a conciliator, facilitator, or mediator serves at the will of the parties.

(c)The President shall designate an agency or designate or establish an interagency committee to facilitate and encourage agency use of dispute resolution under this subchapter. Such agency or interagency committee, in consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies and professional organizations experienced in matters concerning dispute resolution, shall—

(1)encourage and facilitate agency use of alternative means of dispute resolution; and

(2)develop procedures that permit agencies to obtain the services of neutrals on an expedited basis.

(d)An agency may use the services of one or more employees of other agencies to serve as neutrals in dispute resolution proceedings. The agencies may enter into an interagency agreement that provides for the reimbursement by the user agency or the parties of the full or partial cost of the services of such an employee.

(e)Any agency may enter into a contract with any person for services as a neutral, or for training in connection with alternative means of dispute resolution. The parties in a dispute resolution proceeding shall agree on compensation for the neutral that is fair and reasonable to the Government.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification section 573 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, was transferred to section 2258 of Title 7, Agriculture.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 573 was renumbered section 593 of this title.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–320, § 7(b)(1), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to power of Administrative Conference of the United States to establish and utilize standards for neutrals and to enter into contracts for services of neutrals. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–320, § 7(b)(2), struck out “on a roster established under subsection (c)(2) or a roster maintained by other public or private organizations, or individual” after “contract with any person”. 1992—Pub. L. 102–354 renumbered section 583 of this title as this section.

§573 Neutrals