(1) A prehearing conference may be held in conjunction with a mediation.

(2) Prehearing conferences may be held by telephone.

(3) The parties are encouraged where possible to resolve their disputes by agreement. To facilitate such resolution, the prehearing conference may be recessed at any time to give the parties time to discuss settlement of their dispute. In the event settlement is reached, the parties must notify the board and the appellant must sign and submit a request to withdraw the appeal.