Mediating Employment Discrimination Disputes at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (U.S. EEOC) is responsible for enforcing the federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. In 1991, the U.S. EEOC first piloted its Mediation Program in four regional offices, and, in 1999, rolled out the Program nationally. The U.S. EEOC’s Mediation Program offers parties to a charge the opportunity for a fair and efficient means to resolve their employment disputes. A neutral mediator assists the parties in reaching a voluntary, negotiated agreement.

The panel will consist of mediators from the U.S. EEOC’s New York District which includes all of New England, New York and most of New Jersey. The discussion will be focused on what is involved in the mediation of employment discrimination disputes at the U.S. EEOC. Panelists will address U.S. EEOC mediation processes and procedures, as well as draw upon their own experiences and the techniques they have used to resolve employment related disputes.

David L. Reinman, Esq. is the Supervisory ADR Coordinator for the U.S. EEOC’s NY District Mediation Program. Previously, he served as a Staff Mediator with the U.S. EEOC. He mediated hundreds of charges involving allegations of employment discrimination and other workplace disputes.  He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. David also worked as a supervising attorney with the Seton Hall University School of Law Conflict Management Program’s S.D.N.Y. Representation in Mediation Practicum, providing pro se litigants with no-cost legal representation in court-ordered mediation and teaching law students mediation advocacy and negotiation skills. David earned his J.D. from California Western School of Law, LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, B.A. from Rutgers University. He conducts trainings and frequently guest lectures on negotiation, mediation and employment law.

Deborah Reik, Esq. is a Staff Mediator with the U.S. EEOC’s NY District Office. She was an Appellate Attorney at the U.S. EEOC in Washington D.C., a trial attorney in the U.S. EEOC NY District Office, and since 1998, a Staff Mediator in the ADR Unit in the New York District Office.  Deborah has mediated more than two thousand cases. As a mediator, she resolves disputes brought under the laws the U.S. EEOC administers, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and The Americans with Disabilities Act.  Deborah has won awards as a mediator, including the Federal Executive Board Distinguished Government Service Award in 2014, U.S. EEOC Sustained Performance Award in 2011, NY Federal Executive Board Alternative Dispute Resolution Award in 2005, the Congressional Certificate of Achievement, the Director’s Award in 2003, and the Special Achievement Award in 2007.  She is a certified mediator through the NYU Employment Law and Mediator Skills Training in 2001.  Deborah is on the panel of mediators for the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of NY and the American Arbitration Association panel for Hurricane Sandy mediations.  In October 2013, she received an Edmund Muskie Fellowship to present a series of workshops on mediation in Ukraine. She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, magna cum laude, and the University of Connecticut Law School. She is a member of the Connecticut and NYS Bars.

Joy H. Kemppainen, Esq. is a Pro Bono Mediator with the U.S. EEOC’s New York District Office. Joy has been serving as a pro-bono mediator since 2011.  She began mediating for the U.S. EEOC in 2015.  Previously, Joy was an independent securities compliance consultant and a Principal Consultant with ACA Compliance Group.  Prior to that, Joy was responsible for compliance in the NY office of an advisory group managing over $380 billion worldwide.  Joy served as General Counsel to a $3 billion investment adviser in Washington, D.C. which managed hedge funds, a mutual fund, and separate accounts.  Joy has also served on the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management in Washington D.C. and the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in Seattle.  She also held a compliance position in Hong Kong with a Chinese investment adviser, and with the Hong Kong operation for a large international investment bank based in Amsterdam.  She has also worked in the securities litigation departments of a Seattle and NY law firm and served as General Counsel to an investment adviser in Seattle. Before becoming a lawyer, Joy served as a branch manager of examiners in the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) and worked as a CPA in the audit and tax departments of a large Seattle CPA firm.  Before becoming a CPA, Joy worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Federal Aviation Administration. Joy earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington, with an emphasis in accounting.  She earned her J.D. from the same university in 1990 and was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1990. 

For more information on the U.S. EEOC’s Mediation Program, go to:  https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/mediation/