Our Services

Informal Grievance Activities

  • Peer Resolution Process (PRP):

    The Peer Resolution Process at NIH is a pilot administrative grievance process available to employees of the Clinical Center; National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; National Institute on Aging; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and the Office of the Director. In the PRP, NIH ombudsmen serve as mediators who assist the grievant and the first- and second-line supervisors as they attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution to the grievance.

    If an agreement is not reached, the grievant has the option of bringing the complaint to a panel consisting of two managers and three peers who hear the complaint. Employees choose the panelists randomly from a pool of volunteers who have been trained in the peer panel process. A neutral third party facilitates the PRP panel process and the panel's decisionmaking. The panel makes a final and binding decision to grant, modify, or deny the grievant's request for remedy. The panel is the final opportunity for appeal.

    Click here to view the full Peer Resolution Process Policy.


  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) mediation:

    An aggrieved person who files an EEO pre-complaint through the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management (OEODM) can elect to pursue “traditional” EEO counseling or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In the ADR process here, NIH ombudsmen serve as mediators who assist parties in their attempt to achieve early, informal resolution of disputes in a mutually satisfactory fashion.

    Participation in ADR is strictly voluntary for the person bringing the complaint, and the Office of the Ombudsman retains the authority to determine if the matter is appropriate for ADR. EEO mediation is a confidential process, and ombudsmen serve as neutral third parties without any decisionmaking authority. The ADR method may be used for disputes involving employment discrimination (Title VII Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination Act, and the Rehabilitation Act), as well as issues of non-employment discrimination.

    For more on this process, please visit the OEODM at http://oeodm.od.nih.gov/complaints/counseling_adr/alternative/index.aspx