Article 31A – Alternative Dispute Resolution

Section 1. Mission of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Process

The parties recognize and endorse the concept that complaints and dissatisfactions, which might develop into disputes, should be raised in a timely manner and resolved at the lowest administrative level on an informal basis where possible. The alternative dispute resolution process will provide a non-adversarial approach by using mediation as the basic method to address problems and their underlying causes. The process will offer a flexible approach to finding creative resolutions to the disputes it handles, while preserving the rights of all participants. Dispute resolution is also an alternative to the informal EEO complaints process for employees who want to file discrimination complaints, but employees may alternatively file informal discrimination complaints directly with the Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints Office. Dispute resolution also serves as an alternative means of filing an informal grievance.

Section 2. Definition

A dispute is any problem that any employee or group of employees is having or has had in the workplace, excluding the following:

  1. Personnel security determinations.
  2. Position classification appeals resolved by OPM.
  3. Adverse actions.
  4. Financial waivers.
  5. Third-party complaints (except group complaints as defined in Article 11, Section 7 of the CBA).
  6. Matters under formal negotiation.
  7. Changes or modifications to the Collective Bargaining Agreement or signed mid-term agreements.
  8. Matters that have been adjudicated or determined through a formal Library process.

Section 3. The Mediation Process

  1. Except as otherwise provided herein, disputes must be brought to the attention of the Dispute Resolution Center within 20 workdays of the origin of the dispute or within 20 workdays from the time the disputant became aware of the circumstances which caused or are causing the dispute. With respect to disputes involving grievable matters which have not been settled informally (see Article 31, Section 4), the grievant and/or the grievant’s representative may present the matter to the Dispute Resolution Center within the 20-workday period. In exceptional circumstances, this time may be extended by mutual consent of both parties for the purpose of finalizing a resolution. Once the dispute has been filed, should the disputee, his/her representative, or the deciding management official from the Library be on leave or official absence, the time limits set forth in this article shall be automatically extended for the period of the time of absence, except under Section 7, in which case there will be no automatic extensions. The parties shall be notified, in writing, of this absence as soon as is reasonably possible.

    1. A convener will meet with the disputant, generally within two workdays of the dispute being filed in the Center, to hear his/her concerns and explain the dispute process.
    2. The convener shall inform the disputant of his/her right to representation from this point on; however, representation is optional from this point on.
    3. The disputant shall, to the best of his/her knowledge, fully disclose to the convener the basis of his/her dispute, including, as appropriate, alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or Library of Congress regulations. If it becomes apparent during the mediation stage that a dispute should be redesignated as an EEO complaint or grievance, the disputant may do so.
    4. Once a dispute is designated as an EEO complaint, the dispute resolution process substitutes for the informal stage (pre-complaint procedures under LCR 11-310.) of the EEO complaints process, provided that if the dispute claims discrimination on the basis of disability, timely filing of the dispute satisfies the filing requirements of LCR 9-121.
    5. The convener will work with the parties in an attempt to resolve the dispute among themselves normally within 20 workdays from the date the disputant and the convener meet. This step is to be a rigorous attempt to resolve the matter by mutual agreement among all involved parties.
    6. If mediation does not resolve the dispute between the parties, the convener will inform the disputant of options for proceeding:
      1. If discrimination (Title VII violation) is alleged, the disputant may file a formal complaint in the EEO Complaints Office within ten workdays of receipt of the final interview notice.
      2. If a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement or Library of Congress Regulations is alleged, a grievance may be filed as a Step Two Grievance at the Library’s Labor Relations Office level within ten days of receipt of the final interview notice.
      3. If more than one process could be utilized to challenge the action that was the subject of the dispute, the disputant shall be so informed and will be required to make an election.
      4. If the dispute involved more than one action, with individually distinct circumstances, more than one process may be applicable and the disputant shall be informed of the option.
      5. If the dispute is neither a nor b the process is ended.

Section 4. Rights of Employees

  1. All bargaining unit employees of the Congressional Research Service may use this process. Former employees with complaints pending at the time they left the Library may finish this process if issues of compensation are involved.
  2. A CRS bargaining unit employee may contact the Dispute Resolution Center directly. While representation is optional, the employee will be informed of the opportunity for representation. Employees who initiate a dispute resolution procedure, union representatives, and other employees involved in a dispute resolution procedure, shall not be subjected to harassment, restraint, interference, coercion, or reprisal because of having participated in the process, or because of having obtained a resolution or because of the terms thereof.
  3. If a dispute is not resolved after the initiation of the mediation process, the party filing the dispute may proceed to the CRS Director level of the grievance procedure, or file at Step Two in accordance with Section 3.B.6.b, or file a formal EEO complaint.
  4. All information revealed in the dispute resolution process shall remain confidential and for the use only of the parties in dispute. Conveners will not be required to give information or testimony on any case filed in the DRC in any subsequent processing of a case. Upon request by the EEO Complaints Office or the Library’s Labor Relations Office, the Director of Workforce Diversity shall complete the Dispute Resolution Release Form. The form will give the name of the disputant, the date released, and a summary of the basis for the dispute.
  5. The resolution of the dispute must be consistent with the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or Library of Congress Regulations (LCRs).

Section 5. Rights of the Association

Whenever a bargaining unit member has a dispute mediated by the Center, CREA has the following rights:

  1. All rights specified under the CBA and/or LCRs;
  2. To be notified each time a dispute is brought to the Dispute Center;
  3. To represent the employee (if requested by the employee);
  4. To be furnished with a copy of written resolutions for all disputes involving CREA bargaining unit members.

Section 6. Reporting

To ensure that the process is monitored effectively, the Dispute Resolution Center shall track bargaining-unit cases and provide statistical compilations. The Library will provide the Association a quarterly report on bargaining unit employee cases. The report shall provide the following information: dispute number, administrative unit, nature of dispute, date of initial contact, date and disposition of the case and nature of any resolution.

Section 7. Mediation Pending Proposal of an Adverse Action

  1. Management shall give an employee, under investigation for misconduct, advance notice that a decision has been made to propose an adverse action on a date certain that is at least three (3) weeks in the future.
  2. Said employee, prior to the issuance of a “Notice of Proposed Adverse Action,” may seek the assistance of the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) for mediation assistance. The employee will be informed of the opportunity for representation.
  3. The following procedures shall apply:

    1. The employee must request assistance from the DRC within three (3) work days of receiving an advance notice that a decision has been made to propose an adverse action based on misconduct.
    2. A convener will be assigned within two work days and will attempt to mediate the dispute.
    3. Any mediation assistance provided to the employee shall cease as of the date of issuance of the “Notice of Proposed Adverse Action.”

  4. The invocation of the dispute process by an employee, prior to the issuance of the “Notice of Proposed Adverse Action,” will not stay any step in the adverse action process.
  5. This adverse action dispute resolution process will not be applicable in cases where it is necessary to place an employee on leave or suspension under LCR 9-1070* because his or her continued presence may disrupt normal Library functions or may endanger the health or safety of the Library staff or the public.

*LCR 11-310 was formerly LCR 2010-3.1, “Resolution of Problems, Complaints, and Charges of Discrimination in Library Employment and Staff Relations Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Program”.

*LCR 9-121 was formerly LCR 2025-8, “Accommodations and Remedies for Discrimination Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”.

*LCR 9-1070 was formerly LCR 2020-5, “Administrative Leave, Enforced Leave, and Indefinite Suspensions”.