Guest Veritas Posted September 29, 2015 at 07:55 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 at 07:55 PM A member of our organization was suspended by an Officer for actions related to 'unbecoming a member' (the member insulted another officer and then threatened to be disruptive to the organization). The Officer that was threatened and insulted filed an incident report; and the Officer that suspended the member submitted a grievance. In the interim that the Grievance Committee was to come together to confer on the grievance, the party that was being grieved also submitted a grievance against the member that suspended him for purported physical contact. It was brought to my attention that under RRO Article XIII 'Legal Rights of Assemblies and Trials of Their Members' Section: 75 (4th paragraph) that the member filing the grievance against the Officer that suspended him has little, if any, rights: "...after charges are preferred against a member...he is deprived of all rights of membership until his case is disposed of." Based on the aforementioned, should the grievance launched by the member against the Officer that suspended him be dropped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:28 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:28 PM For openers, you are quoting from the 1915 4th edition of ROR... Robert's Rules of Order Revised. It is now 100 years later and we are in the 11th edition. The version you are looking at is the only version available on line and it is available only because its copyright has expired and it has bee rather extensively modified. Discipline is covered the 26 pages of chapter XX of the 11th edition. The provisions on discipline have been COMPLETELY revised in the 11th edition. I suggest strongly that if you are looking at disciplinary matters, you get the 11th edition. One key difference: Members facing disciplinary proceedings are not automatically deprived of all rights of membership pending a final resolution. Whether to suspend the accused member's rights as a member is now optional. Edited to add: See the bottom of page 658 and the top of 659 re suspending the member's rights pending trial. See also the bottom of page 662. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:35 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:35 PM A member of our organization was suspended by an Officer . . . Your organization apparently has disciplinary procedures which go beyond (and supersede) those in RONR. RONR does not give "an officer" the authority to suspend a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:37 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 at 08:37 PM Your organization apparently has disciplinary procedures which go beyond (and supersede) those in RONR. RONR does not give "an officer" the authority to suspend a member. Correct. One member may not even prefer charges against another member under the rules in RONR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted September 29, 2015 at 10:30 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 at 10:30 PM A member of our organization was suspended by an Officer for actions related to 'unbecoming a member' (the member insulted another officer and then threatened to be disruptive to the organization). The Officer that was threatened and insulted filed an incident report; and the Officer that suspended the member submitted a grievance. In the interim that the Grievance Committee was to come together to confer on the grievance, the party that was being grieved also submitted a grievance against the member that suspended him for purported physical contact. It was brought to my attention that under RRO Article XIII 'Legal Rights of Assemblies and Trials of Their Members' Section: 75 (4th paragraph) that the member filing the grievance against the Officer that suspended him has little, if any, rights:"...after charges are preferred against a member...he is deprived of all rights of membership until his case is disposed of." Based on the aforementioned, should the grievance launched by the member against the Officer that suspended him be dropped?If charges are preferred against a member, the society has the option of suspending the member of some or all of the rights of membership (except those relating to the disciplinary process itself) until the conclusion of the trial. The suspension is not automatic. You need to pick up a copy of the current edition.The citation you are referring to, however, is in the context of the formal disciplinary procedures in RONR, and what you are describing bears no resemblance to those procedures. Nothing in RONR gives an individual officer the authority to prefer charges against a member or to suspend a member. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, that authority rests with the society. If your bylaws do not grant the officer in question this authority, the member is not suspended of anything. If your bylaws do grant the officer this authority, then you will need to review your bylaws to answer your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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