Expert: Timmy Chou - 9/29/2005

Question
hi, recently a friend of mine who has worked for a large organisation for the last 10 years has been suspended for putting other peoples claims through on her jewellery insurance. (works in a jewellers).
basically when she has been doing this, there has always been a member of management there who has witnessed her doing this and has never said anything about it therefore she didnt think anything wrong of it.
recently she got a new manager and she has reported that my friend has many insurance policies in her locker for different items of jewellery all of which are her own, this new manager has reported this and now my friend is currently under suspension and may get a disciplinary and be arrested.
if there was always a managerial role around her when she did this and she always had permission, does this not mean that she cannot be done for anything as to her she wasn't doing anything wrong. please respond, i really want to help her and i will be interviewed and would like to have my say in the matter, but i would like to say something which actually will mean something.
thank you

Answer
Thank you for your question!

Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

I am not a lawyer and cannot mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.

Note that this issue will have legal factors and you may wish to have your friend consult an attorney.

From your description it appears that there is a grey area here in terms of the permitted policy.  It seems that other superior persons were aware of the conduct, but either condoned, or did not object to it.  Conversely, however, it appears also that there is nothing specific authorizing the practice either and it would seem that the company would have legitimate issues about misstated insurance claims.

Your friend's case will not turn on whether the conduct was right or not, but on whether the practice is usual and customary.  I would want to find as many other people as possible that will either admit to this practice or will admit that they have observed the practice commonly.  You must try to draw the picture of a person introduced to an environment where certain practices were common and merely following the line--as it were--and that picking out one person to punish is unfair and discimminatory.

She cannot (as the soldiers of the Abu Ghraib scandal found out) merely say that she can do bad things if her superiors authorize it or even command it, so she bears some responsibility if her conduct is out of line.

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.

For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:

   Confidential, no public record
   Limited exchange of documentation, information
   Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
   Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
   Cheaper than litigation
   Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

   It's a compromise, no %100 winner
   Complex arbitration can be costly
   If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
   Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
   Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

   Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
   Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
   Can be quicker than litigation
   Less costly than litigation
   Preserves business relationships
   85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

   may not reach a binding decision
   unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

   a clear winner and loser
   uses a prescribed set of procedures
   more predictable outcomes
   is final

Negatives of Litigation:

   waiting for court dates can do more harm
   usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
   part of the public record