Mediation lawyers will once again be meeting with representatives from the NFL and the former NFL Players Association in hopes that a new labor agreement can be reached before the fall season is scheduled to begin.  Without such an agreement, there may not be a season at all. Unfortunately, some of the most important people in those organizations will not be present at the meetings.  Neither Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, or DeMaurice Smith, leader of the NFL(T) are scheduled to attend.  Instead, according to Albert Breer, speaking for the NFL network, only mediation lawyers for the two sides will meet.

NFL Lawyers Have a Potential Agreement

Attorneys for the NFL spend the past weekend arranging the terms of an agreement to bring to this week's meeting, announced NFL Public Relations head Greg Aiello over Twitter.  He added that the lawyers have spend time "drafting potential CBA language for a while," a comment that possibly indicates pessimism about such language being finished in time for the meeting.

Another complication is a pending complaint former players have filed in court, contesting the right of NFL owners to impose a lockout.  The action was declared illegal by U.S.  District Judge Susan R.  Nelson, but the matter is now on appeal with the 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The NFL dispute is just one example of how mediation attorneys can use workplace mediation in an effort to resolve disputes between workers and management.