Perceptions of procedural justice in workplace dispute mediations: Bargaining in the shadow of justice

This study explored how procedural justice expectations shape perceptions of mediation outcomes and how the mediation process in use shapes expectations of mediation participants. The research study's target population included all participants in employment discrimination cases mediated at the EEOC nationwide during a four-week period in the fall of 2005. Survey respondents were asked to provide background data on their level of mediation experience, their role in the mediation session, and their perceptions or opinions about fairness and outcomes in a recently concluded EEOC mediation session. The primary objectives of the survey were to ascertain whether the parties to a dispute, the attorneys representing them, and the mediators conducting the mediation, differed in their perceptions of procedural fairness and satisfaction with outcomes and to explore the relationships among perceptions of fairness, outcome satisfaction and other procedural elements in EEOC mediations.; The statistical analyses conducted and reported for this study are exploratory with the aim of discovering interrelationships between variables used to connote procedural justice. The results of the regression models for disputants when "satisfied with fairness" is regressed, show that satisfaction with the perceived quality of outcome, the perceived quality of treatment experienced and the perceived degree of ethicality in the EEOC mediation process are consistent predictors that a disputant will be satisfied with the fairness of the process. Along the same lines, predictors of whether a disputant will be satisfied with the outcome include perceived quality of outcome, perceived level of efficiency, and perceived degree of ethicality.; The regression models for attorneys indicate that perceived degree of ethicality, perceived quality of participation and perceived mediator knowledge are predictors of satisfaction with fairness. Meanwhile, for attorneys, the key predictors of satisfaction with outcome are perceived level of efficiency and degree of ethicality. Reports of focus group discussions help explain how disputants and attorneys viewed their EEOC mediation experience and the implications for the survey results. Since dispute resolution is a discipline that involves social interaction, this research provides some insights into the processes and conduct that constitute effective practice in the field.