Accepting resignation date

[Leatherman]

Hi,

A board member sent an email resigning but doesn't want it to be effective till X date in the future.  As a board, we should accept this ASAP by voting on it at the next meeting regardless of what the date is written.  Is this a correct procedure?  Just like an employment at a paying job, the employer can elect to ask the employee to leave ASAP and not wait till the date that was written on the letter of resignation.

[George Mervosh]

5 minutes ago, Leatherman said:

Hi,

A board member sent an email resigning but doesn't want it to be effective till X date in the future.  As a board, we should accept this ASAP by voting on it at the next meeting regardless of what the date is written.  Is this a correct procedure?  Just like an employment at a paying job, the employer can elect to ask the employee to leave ASAP and not wait till the date that was written on the letter of resignation.

Assuming the board has the power to accept resignations of its members, if the member offers his resignation to effective on a certain date, the board can either accept or reject that offer, but it cannot accept something that was not offered. 

[Leatherman]

2 minutes ago, George Mervosh said:

Assuming the board has the power to accept resignations of its members, if the member offers his resignation to effective on a certain date, the board can either accept or reject that offer, but it cannot accept something that was not offered. 

Yes we have the power to accept it. So we need to recognize the resignation and accept it at the next board meeting even though they don't want off the board until after that meeting. 

[Dan Honemann]

3 minutes ago, Leatherman said:

Yes we have the power to accept it. So we need to recognize the resignation and accept it at the next board meeting even though they don't want off the board until after that meeting. 

No, you don't have to accept it if you don't want to.

[Richard Brown]

You cannot arbitrarily change the terms of the proffered resignation. You must either accept it or reject it, but you can't make it effective prior to the date specified in the resignation.

[Josh Martin]

29 minutes ago, Leatherman said:

Yes we have the power to accept it. So we need to recognize the resignation and accept it at the next board meeting even though they don't want off the board until after that meeting. 

You can accept it at the next board meeting, but it will not take effect until the date stated in the resignation (assuming that date is later than the next board meeting).

If you want the board member to leave prior to the date stated in the resignation, disciplinary procedures would be required.

[jstackpo]

1 hour ago, Leatherman said:

Yes we have the power to accept it. So we need to recognize the resignation and accept it at the next board meeting even though they don't want off the board until after that meeting. 

But don't forget... that reluctant board member can vote on his/her own resignation at that (last) board meeting.  And he can  indeed withdraw his resignation (and submit a changed one) before the vote to accept the resignation is taken.

[George Mervosh]

9 minutes ago, jstackpo said:

But don't forget... that reluctant board member can vote on his/her own resignation at that (last) board meeting.  And he can  indeed withdraw his resignation (and submit a changed one) before the vote to accept the resignation is taken.

I think Dr. Stackpole would agree that he can only do that prior to the chair stating the question on the acceptance of the request, but not after it's placed before the board, by the chair.

[jstackpo]

1 hour ago, George Mervosh said:

I think Dr. Stackpole would agree that he can only do that prior to the chair stating the question on the acceptance of the request, but not after it's placed before the board, by the chair.

Agreed!  Your attention to detail supersedes mine!

[Gary Novosielski]

11 hours ago, Leatherman said:

Hi,

A board member sent an email resigning but doesn't want it to be effective till X date in the future.  As a board, we should accept this ASAP by voting on it at the next meeting regardless of what the date is written.  Is this a correct procedure?  Just like an employment at a paying job, the employer can elect to ask the employee to leave ASAP and not wait till the date that was written on the letter of resignation.

It is my understanding that this board member is not an employee.  Members are generally not "just like" employees.

A resignation is a request to be excused from a duty.  The board (if it has the authority to accept resignations) can grant or (in theory) refuse the request.  I believe the board could also delay the request to a time later than requested.  But "granting" what was not requested amounts to removing someone from office, which is a different kettle of seafood.

[Drake Savory]

p 290  Standard Characteristic 6 states a Request to be Excused from a Duty is amendable so why can't the assembly amend the effective date?

[Dan Honemann]

1 hour ago, Drake Savory said:

p 290  Standard Characteristic 6 states a Request to be Excused from a Duty is amendable so why can't the assembly amend the effective date?

Yes, a motion to grant a member's request to be excused from a duty may be amended by the assembly in various ways, but not in such a way as to change the request itself into something which it was not. It seems to me that this is just a matter of plain old common sense.

I suppose that a member who has made such a request could, while the motion to grant it was pending, ask leave to modify his request in some fashion, but that is also another kettle of seafood.

[Josh Martin]

5 hours ago, Drake Savory said:

p 290  Standard Characteristic 6 states a Request to be Excused from a Duty is amendable so why can't the assembly amend the effective date?

A resignation is a voluntary act. If a member submits a resignation with an effective date in the future, the assembly cannot instead decide to accept the resignation and have it take effect immediately, because the member has not offered to resign immediately. Since this would no longer be a voluntary act, it would be a removal rather than a resignation, and must comply with the society’s rules concerning removal, or if there no such rules, with the rules in RONR concerning removal.

[George Mervosh]

Can someone post a real life example of a proper amendment to the motion to grant a member's request to be excused from a duty?  I've just never seen it real life.

[Tom Coronite]

I've not seen it in real life, either, but allow me to try:

Our rules stipulate the Financial Secretary will provide monthly reports to the Trustees Board. In real life, there's no need for such frequent reports.

If the Financial Secretary requests to be excused from that duty, but the Trustees Board would like at least to have quarterly reports, perhaps they could amend her request in that way?

Edited May 21, 2019 at 11:53 PM by Tom Coronite

[Dan Honemann]

The secretary submits his resignation and a member moves "that the secretary's resignation be accepted." While this motion is pending, a member moves "that the pending motion be amended by adding "with sincere thanks for a job well done over the past two years."

I can think of quite a number of other illustrations, but one should be enough.

[Gary Novosielski]

Yes, I have seen, and in some cases have moved, an amendment to acceptance of a resignation, by inserting the words "with regret" after the word "accepted".

[jstackpo]

or even "with unalloyed joy" in some special cases.

[Gary Novosielski]

6 hours ago, jstackpo said:

or even "with unalloyed joy" in some special cases.

The temptation was great in a case or two.   

And I know of at least one case where a motion to add "with regret" was not agreed to.

Edited May 22, 2019 at 05:41 AM by Gary Novosielski

[George Mervosh]

13 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

The secretary submits his resignation and a member moves "that the secretary's resignation be accepted." While this motion is pending, a member moves "that the pending motion be amended by adding "with sincere thanks for a job well done over the past two years."

I can think of quite a number of other illustrations, but one should be enough.

Thanks and thanks to the others.  I thought about this type of example, it's just that the couple of times I've seen it it was included in the motion to accept the resignation. Makes sense.  

[J. J.]

The assembly may ask the secretary to stay until a replacement was found; the secretary agrees.  The resignation could be amended to "upon a replacement being chosen."