Langham: Mediations, Motions and Orders to Show Cause

An interesting conflict can arise with private mediation. As the volume of petitions increases, the availability of state mediators will become increasingly scarce. The state mediators all have discretion in scheduling their calendars. The 28 mediator calendars will become more congested with petition for benefit volumes increasing. At the annual Workers' Compensation Institute recently, I was again asked why the employer/carrier is faced with the bill when a case has to be referred to private mediation. The simple answer to this question is, "because the law says so." ...