EEO office recognized for best Alternative Dispute Resolution in Air Force

  • Published
  • By Jim Fisher
  • Kirtland Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  When Norm Jacobson, the director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program for the Air Force, visited Kirtland Feb. 24, he was here to do more than bring leadership up to speed in the art of resolving disputes.

The visitor from the Office of the Air Force General Counsel in Washington also came to laud the 377th Equal Opportunity Office. Team Kirtland's EEO team had the best ADR program in the Air Force for 2015.

"It's a real pleasure for me to be here today to recognize an organization that has contributed much to the success of the ADR program," Jacobson said, addressing the 377th's Air Base Wing staff meeting.

He said efforts to build the ADR program since its inception in 1993 have gone hand in hand with conserving resources, improving efficiency and empowering the workforce.

"It is the efforts of ADR programs like the one here at Kirtland that have been the real engine of success for the program," Jacobson said.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Program is an avenue for military and civilians to resolve workplace disputes. The program saves the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. 

Kirtland's ADR program, run by the EEO office, is led by ADR manager Ofelia Mejiaortega, who Jacobson also recognized as the Air Force Materiel Command ADR Practitioner of the Year. She is grateful for the recognition and is proud to be part of a program that provides tangible benefits to Kirtland and the Air Force.

"We are offering people this process, which uses a neutral mediator, to resolve issues ranging from a perceived hostile work environment, to unfair treatment, to communication breakdowns between people and their colleagues or supervisors," Mejiaortega said.

She added that while many of these disputes take the form of EEO complaints, a dispute does not necessarily have to reach that level to qualify for ADR.

Kirtland's EEO office upped their resolution rate to 86 percent (from 61 percent in 2014), saving the federal government an estimated $414,000. EEO Director Richard Knudson said the average administrative costs associated with a formal EEO complaint are about $69,000. 

"EEO complaints can sometimes take months or years to resolve," Knudson said. "All the while, the parties have to continue to find a way to work together while waiting for resolution. With ADR, a mediator works to get at the root causes of conflict, and negotiates a compromise both parties can live with in a matter of days."

Mejiaortega said mediators in the ADR program are not arbitrators who issue binding decisions, but they help to bridge communication gaps and bring the parties toward a win-win agreement that is only binding after each party agrees to accept and abide by the terms of resolution.

"It's the opportunity for people to air things out, for each individual to understand the other's point of view, and to arrange a mutually beneficial solution," Mejiaortega said.

Knudson said the team of mediators available to Team Kirtland is creative, flexible and have gained valuable experience under the program. This includes an innovative exchange of mediators with Federal Executive Board in Albuquerque, another facet that was cited in EEO's ADR team and individual awards.

The Kirtland ADR program epitomizes an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, Jacobson said, adding that the 377th EEO office has also been recognized with General Counsel ADR awards in 2010 and 2013.

"If we were talking in NFL terms, I think sports commentators would call this a dynasty," Jacobson said.

To take advantage of the ADR process, contact the EEO office at 846-5369.