Legal Definitions - Mediation and Conciliation Service

The Mediation and Conciliation Service is a federal agency that helps prevent the interruption of commerce caused by labor disputes. It does this by assisting parties in settling their disputes through mediation and conciliation.

The agency can intervene on its own or at the request of a party involved in the dispute. This means that if there is a labor dispute that could potentially disrupt commerce, the agency can step in and help the parties involved come to a resolution.

For example, if there is a strike at a factory that produces a critical component for a larger product, the Mediation and Conciliation Service could step in to help the workers and management come to an agreement so that production can continue and commerce is not interrupted.

The Mediation and Conciliation Service is also known as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and is governed by the United States Code Annotated (USCA) §§ 172-173.