Raleigh, NC – After nearly 25 years as Dispute Resolution Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner John C. Schafer will retire from the Industrial Commission as of February 1, 2022. Schafer’s contributions to the Commission’s Mediation Section are numerous and invaluable, and the Commission greatly appreciates his dedicated service.
Under Schafer’s leadership, the Industrial Commission’s mediation program underwent a series of changes that have helped the Commission to more efficiently administer litigated cases in a way that benefits the parties. Schafer was instrumental in the adoption of Commission mediation rule revisions that helped eliminate unnecessary delays in the mediation process, and he implemented changes to ensure the expeditious setting of cases not resolved at mediation. During Schafer’s tenure, mediation settlement rates for North Carolina workers’ compensation cases have been consistently higher than those in comparable mediation programs.
Schafer is a recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Peace Award, which honors a person who has made a special contribution or commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. In addition to his many years of service to the Industrial Commission, Schafer currently serves as an Ex-Officio member of the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. He is a past Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and a past Co-Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Book Committee.
Schafer is a certified mediator (currently inactive) who received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. Following his retirement from the Industrial Commission, and a few months of travel and family visits, Schafer will embark on a new career path as a private mediator.
While Schafer will be greatly missed, the Industrial Commission is pleased to announce that Chief Deputy Commissioner Tammy Nance will begin serving as the Commission’s Acting Dispute Resolution Coordinator effective February 1, 2022. Nance has a keen understanding of the Commission’s mediation program and the important role it plays in the workers’ compensation system, having served as a certified mediator while practicing law in the private sector.
Source: NC Industrial Commission