D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-E709
Fact-finding shall be conducted by a panel of three (3) persons who shall be appointed or selected in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Within five (5) days of the referral of any issue(s) remaining in dispute to fact- finding, pursuant to the provisions of §§ 707 and 708, each party shall select one (1) member of the fact-finding panel. The panel members selected by the parties shall then meet and select an impartial chairperson.
The person selected to serve as impartial chairperson shall be experienced in urban government and public school matters.
If the two (2) panel members selected by the parties, pursuant to § 709.2, are unable to agree upon the appointment of an impartial chairperson within fifteen (15) days of the referral of the issue(s) remaining in dispute to fact-finding, either party may request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the Board of Labor Relations to provide a list of five (5) qualified persons from which the selection of the impartial chairperson shall be made.
If the selection of an impartial chairperson is made pursuant to the provisions of § 709.4, the following procedures shall be followed:
Any person who has acted as a mediator in the immediate proceedings which are the subject of fact-finding shall be ineligible to serve on the fact-finding panel.
The fact-finding panel shall be authorized to hold hearings and adopt procedural rules.
All fact-finding sessions shall be open to the public.
The format, date, and location of each fact-finding hearing shall be established by the impartial chairperson, and shall be announced in a public notice by the Board of Education.
A verbatim record of the fact-finding proceedings may be required at the discretion of the impartial chairperson. If a verbatim record is made, transcripts shall be available to either party at the expense of the party requesting the transcript.
All costs or expenses associated with a panel member selected by a party shall be borne by the party making the selection.
The costs of the impartial chairperson, including the per diem expenses, shall be borne in equal shares by the Board and the labor organization.
Upon the conclusion of all hearings and deliberations of the panel, the panel shall prepare and issue a written public report which shall be submitted to the parties.
The fact-finding report shall state the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the panel, along with the reasons for each. The report shall be limited to a discussion of the issue(s) in dispute which have been submitted to the panel.
The recommendations in the report are advisory only and do not bind the Board or the labor organization.
The report shall indicate by name the members of the panel who concur in each recommendation.
Copies of the report shall be available upon request from the Board.
In preparing its findings and recommendations, the panel shall consider the following:
Within five (5) days of the receipt of the report of the fact-finding panel, the Board and labor organization shall meet, through their respective negotiating teams, to discuss the report.
At any time after the submission of the report to the parties, any member of the fact-finding panel may assist the parties to reach agreement on the issue(s) remaining in dispute.
The parties shall have fifteen (15) days from the date of the final adjournment of the meeting on the report held pursuant to § 709.20 to take action on the panel's recommendations.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-E709