Censure of a member

[Guest guest]

If your organization has its own disciplinary procedure that makes no mention of "censuring" a member and/or officer, can it still be done?  Or is considered separate from  what is general considered "disciplinary action"?

[Bruce Lages]

There was a thread that dealt with this question some time ago (and perhaps someone will come up with the link to that thread), but as I recall, a motion to censure - which is simply an expression of the assembly's disapproval of some action taken by the subject of the motion - was not considered to fall under the coverage of disciplinary action.

[Chris Harrison]

Censure can be used as a punishment as a result of disciplinary proceedings but it can also be used outside of those proceedings.  Unless your bylaws say otherwise censuring someone is basically a paper tiger since it doesn't carry any punitive powers beyond the assembly going on record saying that they aren't happy with someone for something they did or did not do.

 

Say a Board member went to the media and publicly and loudly berated the organization for actions they took that he strongly disagrees with.  He could be censured in two different scenarios:  1) the organization initiated disciplinary procedures against him and he was found guilty and as his punishment they censured him for what he said, or 2) at a meeting when no disciplinary proceedings were pending a member made a motion to censure him for making the organization's business so public.  In either case that censure does nothing more than saying to him, "We aren't happy with you for talking to the media.  Bad Board member!  "