1. (a) Mediation. Mediation is available to parties in all contested proceedings, or proceedings which could be contested, when the proceeding qualifies for mediation. A proceeding qualifies for mediation when mediation is deemed appropriate by the Office of Administrative Law Judge (OALJ).

2. (b) Requesting mediation.

   1. (1) Parties may request mediation, prior to the commencement of a proceeding, by sending a letter request to the Mediation Coordinator of OALJ, and a copy of the request to the Secretary of the Commission.
   2. (2) Parties may request mediation in their pleadings.
   3. (3) Parties may request mediation during the course of a proceeding.
3. (c) Consent to use mediation process. The OALJ may notify the parties in a proceeding that mediation may be appropriate and ask whether the parties consent to use the mediation process.

4. (d) Party with the burden of proof.

   1. (1) Except as otherwise directed by the Commission, there can be no mediation unless the party with the burden of proof consents to mediate.
   2. (2) When the party with the burden of proof consents to mediation in proceedings subject to a statutory deadline for adjudication, that party must also agree, in writing, to extend the statutory deadline by, at least, 60 days.
5. (e) Assignment by Commission. The Commission may assign a case to the OALJ for mediation.

Source

The provisions of this § 69.392 adopted March 4, 1994, effective March 15, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 1205; amended May 19, 1995, effective May 30, 1995, 25 Pa.B. 1966; amended October 29, 1999, effective October 30, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 5616. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (241324) to (241325).

Cross References

This section cited in 52 Pa. Code § 63.222 (relating to expedited process for resolution of migration disputes between service providers).