Section 201.30  Appointment of Mediator

a)         The Executive Director of the Commission or his/her designee shall appoint a mediator who shall not have any financial or personal interest in the result of the mediation.  If an Administrative Law Judge is appointed as a mediator, the same Administrative Law Judge shall not preside over a docketed matter concerning the same dispute for which he/she acts or acted as the mediator.  If a member of Commission staff is appointed as a mediator, the same member of Commission staff shall not participate in a docketed matter concerning the same dispute for which he/she acts or acted as the mediator, unless all parties to the docketed matter waive, in writing, any objection to the Commission staff member's involvement in the docketed matter.

b)         Each mediation participant initiating a mediation shall have a one-time right to request that the appointed mediator be replaced by another mediator selected by the Executive Director of the Commission or his/her designee.  Mediation participants choosing to exercise this right shall notify the Executive Director or, if known, his/her designee of their request in writing within seven days after being informed of the identity of the mediator, as provided in Section 201.120.  Upon receipt of the request, the Executive Director or his/her designee shall appoint a replacement mediator within two business days.  The period between the date that a mediation participant submits a request that the appointed mediator be replaced and the date that the Chief Clerk issues a notice identifying the replacement mediator, as described in Section 201.120, shall not be included in the calculation of the duration of the mediation process as provided for in Section 201.260.