Leave of Absence

[Guest Craig]

One of our board members requested and was granted a 6 month leave of absence. Do we still have to count that member in determining a quorum when he/she is on the leave?

[Rev Ed]

Unless the By-laws allow for a "leave of absence" then the member would still count towards quorum.

[Chris Harrison]

Unless your bylaws define a "leave of absence" (and how being on one affects the quorum) and/or the bylaws define a quorum in a way that someone being on a "leave of absence" would impact it then the Board member would still count towards the quorum.

[Guest Craig]

Thanks for the replies. Our By-Laws do not have any mention of leave of absence, so I will follow your advice. This then creates a possible problem for us. If we have to count the member on leave as part of the quorum it puts into a bind at some of our monthly meetings to meet the quorum requirement. Is it appropriate to ask the member to resign, and therefore lessen our quorum number, with the stipulation that he/she will be reappointed when he/she plans to return?

[jstackpo]

You can certainly ask...

Whether the "stipulation" is an appropriate offer may depend on how your bylaws specify how vacancies are filled. It may be out of your hands.

and, of course, if you (collectively) decide that the job not being done by the absent person is critical, you might just go ahead and fill the position right away.