The ABA Section of Dispute Resolution announced the 2010 winners of its First Annual Mediation Video Contest on YOUTUBE. An Honorable Mention Winner was “Mediation Works” submitted by: Peggy Foley Jones, Lissy Gulick, Pat Bambrick, Tod Davies. Check it out: Technorati Tags: ADR, law, arbitration
Continue reading...By Holly Hayes The Joint Commission Medical Staff Standard MS.01.01.01 has been approved and will go into effect March 31, 2011. See the Standard here. American Medical News summarizes: “The new standard states that the organized medical staff has the primary job of assuring quality and patient safety in the hospital while laying out a mechanism for physicians, the hospital governing body and chief executive to resolve differences over rules, policies and procedures. By spelling out these respective roles and responsibilities, the standard aims to foster collaborative working relationships to improve the quality of care. Medical staffs around the country will have to revise their bylaws in the next year to comply with the standard.” Read more here. With regard to the management of conflict, The Joint Commission introduction to the new standard states: “If conflict arises within the medical staff regarding medical staff bylaws, rules and regulations, or policies, it implements its process for managing internal conflict (see Element of Performance 10 — see below). If conflicts regarding the medical staff bylaws, rules and regulations, or policies arise between the governing body and the organized medical staff, the organization implements its conflict management processes, as set forth in the Leadership chapter.” Element of Performance 10 states: “The organized medical staff has a process which is implemented to manage conflict between the medical staff and the medical executive committee on issues including, but not limited to, proposals to adopt a rule, regulation, or policy or an amendment thereto. Nothing in the foregoing is intended to prevent medical staff members from communicating with the governing body on a rule, regulation, or policy adopted by the organized medical staff or the medical executive committee. The governing body determines the method of communication.” The Joint Commission recognition of the value of teamwork in the medical setting and the mandate for the development of a conflict resolution process is summarized as follows: “This collaborative relationship is critical to providing safe, high quality care in the hospital. While the governing body is ultimately responsible for the quality and safety of care at the hospital, the governing body, medical staff, and administration collaborate to provide safe, quality care. (Please see the Leadership chapter for more discussion of the relationship among the organized medical staff, administration, and governing body.)” See our posts on the Leadership chapter here and here. The requirement that “The organized medical staff has a process which is implemented to manage conflict…” validates the use of ADR techniques in health care. We welcome your comments to this new medical staff standard. Holly Hayes is a mediator at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert where she focuses on mediation of health care disputes. Holly holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Health Administration from Duke University. She can be reached at: holly@karlbayer.com.
Continue reading...The University of Texas, along with the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Houston International Arbitration Club, will be sponsoring a symposium in Houston on May 13-14 on the subject, “Arbitrators and National Courts: Conflict and Cooperation.” The program will cover issues concerning the relationship between arbitrators and courts—such as the determination of arbitral jurisdiction, injunctions in favor of (or against) arbitration, arbitrators and the rule of law, and the “second look” doctrine a quarter-century after Mitsubishi; the speakers include Professors Andrea Bjorkland, David Caron, Michael Reisman, and Alan Rau; from Europe, such prominent international arbitration figures as Pierre Mayer, Gabrielle Kauffmann-Kohler, Loukas Mistelis, Laurie Craig, Dominique Hascher and Lord Hoffmann; and a number of American and foreign international arbitration practitioners. The full program can be found here. Technorati Tags: arbitration, ADR, law
Continue reading...The following bills relating to alternative dispute resolution were introduced by the 111st Congress. Click on the bill number to read its text and on the status link to find the bill’s most recent legislative action. Stay tuned to Disputing for more legislative updates! Bills that passed: “An Act Making Appropriations for the Department of Defense for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2010, and for Other Purposes” contains an amendment (the “Franken Amendment“) that bans funds to defense contractors who require workers (employees and independent contractors) to arbitrate “any claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any tort related to or arising out of sexual assault or harassment, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, or negligent hiring, supervision, or retention.” (H.R. 3326 ; Amendment; Senator Franken’s video is here) H.R. 3326 was signed by President Barack Obama and became law on December 19, 2009. Final version is here and major actions are here. Also, find guest-posts by F. Peter Phillips here and here. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 (H.R. 3288), a spending bill signed into law by President Obama on December 16, 2009, includes a provision under which owners of automobile dealerships can use a binding arbitration process administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) to seek reinstatement if their businesses were closed by automobile manufacturers during the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Read our posts here and here. Find out more details at the AAA website. Bills still pending: The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 would ban mandatory pre-dispute arbitration in employment, consumer, and franchise contracts. Senate version: S. 931 and Status. House version: H.R. 1020 and Status. The Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 would amend the National Labor Relations Act to require first mediation and then binding arbitration if both parties are unable to reach an agreement within a certain time frame. Senate version: S. 560 and Status. House version: H.R. 1409 and Status. The Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 would amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish additional payday loan requirements to protect consumers. This bill prohibits a mandatory arbitration clause that is “oppressive, unfair, unconscionable, or substantially in derogation of the rights of consumers.” H.R. 1214 and Status. The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 would render pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts unenforceable. S. 512 and Status. House version: H.R. 1237 and Status. The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009 would amend the Truth in Lending Act of 1968. The bill provides that “[n]o residential mortgage loan and no extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan secured by the principal dwelling of the consumer, other than a reverse mortgage may include terms which require arbitration of any other nonjudicial procedure as the method for resolving any controversy.” H.R. 1728 and Status. The Labor Relations First Contract Negotiations Act of 2009 would amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the arbitration of initial contract negotiation disputes. H.R. 243 and Status. The Consumer Fairness Act of 2009 would treat arbitration clauses which are unilaterally imposed on consumers as an unfair and deceptive trade practice and prohibit their use in consumer transactions. H.R. 991 and Status. The Preserving Homes and Communities Act of 2009 would require certain mortgagees to make loan modifications, establish a grant program for state and local government mediation programs, and create databases on foreclosures. S. 1731 and Status. The Conflict Resolution and Mediation Act of 2009 would provide assistance to local educational agencies for the prevention and reduction of conflict and violence. H.R. 4000 and Status. The Agricultural Credit Act of 2009 would reauthorize state agricultural mediation programs under title V of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. H.R. 3509 and Status. The Department of Peace Act of 2009 would establish a Department of Peace that would take a proactive, strategic approach in the development of policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict. H.R.808 and Status. The Rape Victims Act of 2009 provides that employment-related arbitration agreements shall not be enforceable with respect to any claim related to a tort arising out of rape. S. 2915 and Status. The Foreclosure Mandatory Mediation Act of 2009 would require lenders of loans with Federal guarantees or Federal insurance to consent to mandatory mediation. S. 2912 and Status. Technorati Tags: arbitration, ADR, law
Continue reading...Disputing is published by Karl Bayer, a dispute resolution expert based in Austin, Texas. Articles published on Disputing aim to provide original insight and commentary around issues related to arbitration, mediation and the alternative dispute resolution industry.
To learn more about Karl and his team, or to schedule a mediation or arbitration with Karl’s live scheduling calendar, visit www.karlbayer.com.
Disputing is published by Karl Bayer, a dispute resolution expert based in Austin, Texas. Articles published on Disputing aim to provide original insight and commentary around issues related to arbitration, mediation and the alternative dispute resolution industry.
To learn more about Karl and his team, or to schedule a mediation or arbitration with Karl’s live scheduling calendar, visit www.karlbayer.com.