crspencer Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:24 PM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:24 PM Several members have sent in complaints in confidence to our Membership Chair against another member. Our Bylaws allow for bringing members up on charges and somewhat state the procedure for doing so, but they do not specify whether the complaints may be kept confidential until the special meeting or if the accused has a right to know of the specific charges before the meeting. I have pasted the section of our Bylaws that deals with this issue below, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.Section 5. Severing/Suspending of Membership PrivilegesA. A Court member may have his/her membership suspended and/or severed ifhe/shespecifically disrupts or goes against the purposes and/or goals of the Courtincluding, butnot limited to:1. Making negative public statements about the Court or making publicstatementsdiscouraging non-members from becoming members,2. Violations to the purpose and principles of the organization set forth byitsProtocol & Bylaws manuals,3. Conduct which brings discredit to the organization4. Misrepresentation of the organization and/or its purpose and principles,5. Insubordination within the framework of the Court,6. Creation of dissention within the membership,7. Unethical use of property, tangible and intangible of the I.S.Q.C.C.B.E.(Example:Improper use of titles(s), unauthorized use of mailing list(s), unauthorizedcontact withthe organizations, charities and/or sponsors,8. Misappropriation of funds.This procedure is outlined as follows:1. The Membership Chair must first be advised of the complaint or situation.In the eventof a complaint or situation concerning the Membership Chair, anynotification orcorrespondence should be addressed to the President.2. The Membership Chair [or President] will notify the general membership ofa specialmeeting for suspending and/or severing membership. The notification to thegeneralmembership must be at least 30 days prior to the special meeting.3. Any person of the general membership under consideration for havinghis/hermembership suspended or severed shall be provided the opportunity to presenthis/herposition to both the Board and the general membership, prior to theirrespective voting onthis issue. This will be done at a special meeting of the General Membershipand theaccusers. The meeting will be held according to Roberts Rules of Order andall accusersand other persons who wish to speak will send a request to the ISQCCBEPresident andMembership Chairperson no less than 24 hours prior to this meeting. Agendafor saidmeeting will be posted and time limits will be enforced. Meeting willadjourn when allparties have had their say and General Membership present have voted.4. The Board of Directors must reach a decision on the status of themembership inquestion by a 2/3 vote.5. The Board must then call for a 2/3 vote of the general membership presentin order tosuspend or sever that member's privileges.6. This same procedure shall be followed in order to reinstate a suspendedmembership.A severed membership cannot be reinstated.7. If a person is suspended, a certified letter and copy of such lettergiven to themembership chair to be placed in the minutes will contain the reason(s) forsuspension aswell as the date/time frame of said suspension. If person is to bere-evaluated orsuspension removed, a letter will be revised and submitted for the records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:47 PM Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 at 09:47 PM Several members have sent in complaints in confidence to our Membership Chair against another member. Our Bylaws allow for bringing members up on charges and somewhat state the procedure for doing so, but they do not specify whether the complaints may be kept confidential until the special meeting or if the accused has a right to know of the specific charges before the meeting. I have pasted the section of our Bylaws that deals with this issue below, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.Section 5. Severing/Suspending of Membership Privileges...This procedure is outlined as follows:1. The Membership Chair must first be advised of the complaint or situation.In the eventof a complaint or situation concerning the Membership Chair, anynotification orcorrespondence should be addressed to the President.2. The Membership Chair [or President] will notify the general membership ofa specialmeeting for suspending and/or severing membership. The notification to thegeneralmembership must be at least 30 days prior to the special meeting.3. Any person of the general membership under consideration for havinghis/hermembership suspended or severed shall be provided the opportunity to presenthis/herposition to both the Board and the general membership, prior to theirrespective voting onthis issue. This will be done at a special meeting of the General Membershipand theaccusers. The meeting will be held according to Roberts Rules of Order andall accusersand other persons who wish to speak will send a request to the ISQCCBEPresident andMembership Chairperson no less than 24 hours prior to this meeting. Agendafor saidmeeting will be posted and time limits will be enforced. Meeting willadjourn when allparties have had their say and General Membership present have voted.4. The Board of Directors must reach a decision on the status of themembership inquestion by a 2/3 vote.5. The Board must then call for a 2/3 vote of the general membership presentin order tosuspend or sever that member's privileges.6. This same procedure shall be followed in order to reinstate a suspendedmembership.A severed membership cannot be reinstated.7. If a person is suspended, a certified letter and copy of such lettergiven to themembership chair to be placed in the minutes will contain the reason(s) forsuspension aswell as the date/time frame of said suspension. If person is to bere-evaluated orsuspension removed, a letter will be revised and submitted for the records.The accused member has a right to notice of the special meeting, just as any other member does.To the extent that this is a matter of bylaws interpretation, such interpretation is the job of the society. RONR provides some principles of bylaws interpretation (RONR 11th ed. pp. 588-591). The purpose of this forum is discussion of the rules in RONR and the application of those rules; bylaws interpretation is beyond the scope of the forum.The bylaws seem confused/confusing (bolded passages above) about whose meeting it is. The special meeting is clearly identified as a general membership meeting under sections 2 and 3. Then in section 4 the board (which has no authority as a board at a general membership meeting) is apparently voting, and in section 5 the same (non-existent) board calls for a vote from the general membership. The organization should probably apply the principles of interpretation to this portion of the bylaws (and clarify the language by amendment at some point).You may wish to read RONR Ch. XX, for background information on how disciplinary proceedings are described under the rules in RONR. However, since your bylaws describe a custom procedure, you need to follow the rules in your bylaws... as your own organization understands and interprets those rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted January 17, 2012 at 04:03 AM Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 at 04:03 AM Several members have sent in complaints in confidence to our Membership Chair against another member. Our Bylaws allow for bringing members up on charges and somewhat state the procedure for doing so, but they do not specify whether the complaints may be kept confidential until the special meeting or if the accused has a right to know of the specific charges before the meeting. I have pasted the section of our Bylaws that deals with this issue below, any guidance would be greatly appreciated.I concur with Trina, although I would add that so far as RONR is concerned, a member must be given previous notice of his trial and this must include the charges against him. The society has customized rules on the subject, but that principle may be worth considering in determining the appropriate course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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