Act on the Implementation of the Federal Act on Gender Equality in Public Employment Relationships

This Law governs the conciliation procedure in disputes arising from public employment relationships before the Conciliation Office for Gender Equality.

Disputes under the Federal Act of 24 March 1995 on Gender Equality arising within the framework of a public-law employment relationship may be submitted to an attempt at conciliation before the Conciliation Office.

1 The request for conciliation may be submitted within the appeal period; in such a case, the latter shall be suspended.

2 The request for conciliation must be submitted in writing to the Office and contain

a) the names of the parties and their domicile;

b) the subject matter, grounds, and conclusions of the application concisely stated;

c) all documents concerning the request;

d) the date and signature of the party or its representative.

3 The President of the Office may invite the applicant to clarify their application, before notification to the opposing party and within a non-extendable period, if it appears verbose, incomplete, or imprecise.

1 The President shall summon the parties to the conciliation hearing, to be held within thirty days of receiving the application; a copy of the application must be attached to the summons.

2 The defendant may, before the conciliation hearing, set forth their clarifications by means of a succinct written summary. It is nonetheless within the President's discretion to request written clarifications from the defendant, before the conciliation hearing, regarding the applicant's allegations.

3 The summons shall indicate the consequences provided for in case of failure to appear at the hearing.

The parties may be required to appear in person.

1 The Office shall draw up the minutes containing the following information

a) the composition of the Office;

b) the name of the parties, of any legal representatives or agents;

c) a summary of the parties' allegations and conclusions;

d) the mention of whether conciliation failed or succeeded, and if so, the tenor of the agreement;

e) the possibility of appealing to the competent administrative or judicial authority within thirty days from the ascertainment of the lack of agreement.

2 A copy of the minutes shall be signed by all attendees and immediately served upon the parties.

1 Having examined the documents and heard the respective arguments, the Office verifies whether there is a possibility of direct conciliation between the parties; when this is not the case, it formulates a conciliation proposal itself.

2 As a rule, the parties state their position on the conciliation proposal immediately; however, if there are concrete possibilities of conciliation, the Office may grant the parties a peremptory term, not exceeding ten days, to state their position or convene a further hearing for this purpose; in such a case, the proposal is recorded in the minutes.

The conciliation determines the end of the dispute and has the force of *res judicata*.

In the event of a party's non-appearance or if the conciliation attempt fails, the appointing authority, the Council of State as the appeal authority, and the Cantonal Administrative Tribunal may be petitioned within a period of thirty days from the ascertainment of the failure of conciliation.

1 The conciliation procedure is free of charge, and no indemnities may be awarded to the parties.

2 In the event of recklessness by one or the other party, the costs incurred by the procedure may be fully or partially charged to them, and an order to award an indemnity to the counterparty may be made.

This law shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Laws and Executive Acts and shall enter into force simultaneously with the law implementing the Swiss Code of Civil Procedure. [1]

Published in OB 2010, 327.

[1] Entry into force: January 1, 2011 - OB 2010, 327.