Self Mediation Information

Self Mediation
(a.k.a. "The Quick Cancellation Option")

vWorker.com is now offering, a new arbitration option than can save both parties considerable time and effort. It is called "Self Mediation" (and sometimes "The Quick Cancellation Option") and can occur when one or both parties wish to cancel the contract.

Like divorce in the legal system, the arbitration process on a cancellation can be long and grueling...especially if the two parties contest each other strongly, and the deliverables must be tested. In the United States (and some other countries), a legal concept has been invented to help the opposing parties come to a mutually agreeable solution in a much quicker amount of time...the "no-fault" divorce. Self Mediation is modeled on the same concept...by changing the focus of the discussion from the fault to what can be agreed on.

If both parties can agree to the following issues, then they can now choose to Self Mediate:

How much of the funds remaining in escrow should the worker receive? ($ amount?)
Who will receive copyrights to the deliverables? (Employer, Worker, or Split?)
If there was an Expert Guarantee on the project...will the worker forfeit the expert guarantee or receive it back? (Worker forfeits it or Worker receives it back?)
Note: The Expert Guarantee cannot be split or credited to the employer. If forfeited, it will be used to cover the cancellation fee (detailed below), and any remaining funds will be donated to charity.
Who agrees to assume the potential 3.5% cancellation fee? (Employer, Worker or Covered by forfeited expert guarantee?)
Note: The cancellation fee is used to compensate Exhedra for payment processing costs. If the employer assumes responsibility for the fee, the fee will not be charged until the employer requests a refund to their payment method. The fee will be temporarily waived if the employer reuses the funds on a new project, since no additional processing costs will be incurred. If the worker assumes responsibility for the fee, the fee will be charged immediately and will remain permanent (i.e. the fee will not be refunded should the employer reuse the funds onsite).

Important qualifications:

A) Self mediation applies only to pay for deliverables projects. Pay for time projects already have a shortened arbitration process.

B) Neither party can negotiate on ratings, because neither is allowed to rate the other. Instead, the arbitrator places a neutral rating on both parties saying "Worker and Employer agreed to self mediate the following without formal intervention by a vWorker.com arbitrator"... followed by the terms agreed to by the two parties. The arbitration then shows up under the "self mediated" column of both parties' profiles.

C) If the two parties cannot come to a mutual agreement on all of the items listed above with 3 business days...or if one of them wishes to prematurely end the Self Mediation, then the process moves on to formal mediation/arbitration. Also, Self Mediation is a "one time opportunity" that is only available before formal arbitration starts in earnest. After that window of opportunity passes, neither party may "change their mind" and request it again.

D) To prevent a party from abusing Self Mediation, a person can only choose it on a limited # of projects. The limit is currently either 2 projects or 20% of a person's projects (if they have done more than 10 projects). After a person exceeds this limit they must go into formal arbitration for further scrutiny.

E) If at any time, vWorker.com learns with 100% certainty that either party was at fault, then vWorker.com cannot in good faith allow the self mediation to continue, since that information would otherwise be hidden from other users of the site (who have a right to know that information). If this occurs, the project will move to formal arbitration, regardless of the wishes of one or both parties.

F) This program starts 2/7/2005. It is NOT retroactive, meaning that arbitrations which started before this date do not have a Self Mediation option.