Resignation outside of a meeting

[Jason H]

Our society operates under the latest edition of RONR and our bylaws have no information regarding how to handle resignations of our board members.

 

I've reviewed RONR and the FAQ's on this website, and I'm a little confused as to whether a resignation can or cannot be tendered outside of a meeting.

 

Can a board member submit a letter of resignation to the board in between meetings? Can such a resignation letter include an "effective date" of resignation? Or, must the board member wait until the board meets and a vote is taken to determine whether or not to accept the resignation?

 

We recently had a situation in which a board member submitted a letter of resignation to our board (outside of a meeting) with an effective date. The effective date passed, and the board member arrived at the next board meeting, saying that he had changed his mind. This caused a bit of confusion...

 

Thanks!

JH

[Dan Honemann]

Our society operates under the latest edition of RONR and our bylaws have no information regarding how to handle resignations of our board members.

 

I've reviewed RONR and the FAQ's on this website, and I'm a little confused as to whether a resignation can or cannot be tendered outside of a meeting.

 

Can a board member submit a letter of resignation to the board in between meetings? Can such a resignation letter include an "effective date" of resignation? Or, must the board member wait until the board meets and a vote is taken to determine whether or not to accept the resignation?

 

We recently had a situation in which a board member submitted a letter of resignation to our board (outside of a meeting) with an effective date. The effective date passed, and the board member arrived at the next board meeting, saying that he had changed his mind. This caused a bit of confusion...

 

Thanks!

JH

 

Yes, a board member can submit a letter of resignation in between meetings, and such a resignation letter can include an "effective date" of resignation. As noted in FAQ  # 18, it is a request by the member that he be excused from his duties, and he may withdraw this request at any time before the chair, at a meeting, states the question on its acceptance. It appears that, in the situation you describe, this is what occurred.

[Jason H]

Indeed.

 

So I suspect it would be up to the association to determine how to utilize the "effective date" of the resignation. I certainly understand that without some explicit bylaws to the contrary, the association cannot "act" upon the business of accepting a resignation until a proper meeting is called and the association tends to business. 

 

Would an officer still have the right to (or be expected to?) perform duties as defined in the bylaws AFTER their resignation date, but prior to the board officially meeting and accepting the resignation? For example, if the association's president submitted a resignation with an "effective date" that had passed, could that officer still call a special meeting (a power granted to the president by our bylaws) before the board had met to accept the resignation? Could the treasurer still write checks in a similar situation? 

 

I guess I'm a little confused about when the responsibility and/or powers of the member are terminated.

 

Thanks!

JH

[Gary c Tesser]

Indeed.

 

So I suspect it would be up to the association to determine how to utilize the "effective date" of the resignation.....

 

Would an officer still have the right to (or be expected to?) perform duties as defined in the bylaws AFTER their resignation date, but prior to the board officially meeting and accepting the resignation? For example, if the association's president submitted a resignation with an "effective date" that had passed, could that officer still call a special meeting (a power granted to the president by our bylaws) before the board had met to accept the resignation? Could the treasurer still write checks in a similar situation?

 

Up to the association?  I don't think so (although this is the kind of question that I have had my aileron shot off about before) : it's a general question about parliamentary procedure, which should tell you the same as what it will tell every other organization.

 

And yes, it looks as if they are honor-bound, at least as far as their relationship with the organization is concerned, to continue to diligently perform their duties. -- That's because they have not been released from the obligation that they willingly, voluntarily, incurred. It might be clearer to note that this is no different from a resignation that is submitted effective immediately ( which any resignation is, if it is submitted without a modifying statement about when it takes effect), but which is submitted between meetings, so that it cannot be acted upon when it is recieved.

[Dan Honemann]

"The duties of a position must not be abandoned until a resignation has been accepted and becomes effective, or at least until there has been a reasonable opportunity for it to be accepted."  (RONR, 11th ed., p. 291, ll. 10-13.)

[David A Foulkes]

Would an officer still have the right to (or be expected to?) perform duties as defined in the bylaws AFTER their resignation date, but prior to the board officially meeting and accepting the resignation?

 

A resignation is a request to be excused from a duty.  Until the request is formally accepted (by vote at a meeting of the body - Board or membership - authorized to accept resignations), the member is still a board member, with all the duties and authority that comes with the office. 

[ruth.thigpen]

Hi, Our bylaws state that a director may resign by submitting a written notice to the board. In one of our board meetings, a board member gave a verbal resignation effective immediately. The Property manager instructed the director to submit the resignation in writing. About a week after the meeting, the director sent an email to the board of directors stating that they would not be resigning. However, the other two board members, decided they would not allow the director to continue on the board.

 

1. Is the verbal resignation valid/official and can it be enforced?

2. Does the board member have the right to withdraw the verbal resignation?

[George Mervosh]

Hi, Our bylaws state that a director may resign by submitting a written notice to the board. In one of our board meetings, a board member gave a verbal resignation effective immediately. The Property manager instructed the director to submit the resignation in writing. About a week after the meeting, the director sent an email to the board of directors stating that they would not be resigning. However, the other two board members, decided they would not allow the director to continue on the board.

 

1. Is the verbal resignation valid/official and can it be enforced?

2. Does the board member have the right to withdraw the verbal resignation?

 

See if FAQ#18 answers this for you.  http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#18

[Gary Novosielski]

Hi, Our bylaws state that a director may resign by submitting a written notice to the board. In one of our board meetings, a board member gave a verbal resignation effective immediately. The Property manager instructed the director to submit the resignation in writing. About a week after the meeting, the director sent an email to the board of directors stating that they would not be resigning. However, the other two board members, decided they would not allow the director to continue on the board.

 

1. Is the verbal resignation valid/official and can it be enforced?

2. Does the board member have the right to withdraw the verbal resignation?

If your bylaws state that the notice must be in writing, then that's what's required.  RONR allows a resignation offered in a meeting to be verbal, but your bylaws supersede that rule, apparently.

 

But the question is when (if ever) the board voted to accept the resignation.  If it did not, then the director has every right to withdraw the resignation..

[ruth.thigpen]

Thank you.  A couple more questions, by "vote" do you mean they would have had to make a motion to accept the resignation during either the meeting where the board member gave the resignation or at the next meeting? In the meeting minutes, the Secretary captured the resignation in the minutes--she also stated in the meeting notes, "Conclusion: Board Member X resigned effective immediately." However, there was no formal vote to accept or reject.

 

Can you direct me to where this can be found in the RONR?

[ruth.thigpen]

There was another board member that gave her written notice with an effective date of 1/31/14. The submission was also captured in the meeting minutes, but there was never a vote to accept or reject. Is that a problem?

[Guest Edgar]

A couple more questions, 

 

Since you're now a member (Welcome!) you should know that this forum works best if you post your new question as a new topic, even if you find an existing topic that's similar. In other words, think of this as Jason H's topic. Otherwise the facts of his situation are apt to be conflated with the facts of your situation.

[George Mervosh]

Since you're now a member (Welcome!)

 

Members come and go, sadly.  When does a guest no longer qualify as a guest?