Complaint about behaviour during executive meeting

[suesm]

 At an executive meeting 8 months ago,  the discussion became very heated and a board member raised  their voice  at the board . They also told one of the board members who was making derogatory comments towards them to F--- Y-- .

 Months later  [8 MONTHS]a x board member put in a formal complain about the board members behaviour at that executive meeting for using a swear word and shouting  and they are  seeking disciplinary actions against this board member due to that conduct.

  Does Roberts rules of order have anything to say about the time line for  discipline for  conduct during a board meeting, specifically can old complaints be dug up .

 

[George Mervosh]

Under the rules in RONR, one member may not prefer charges against another member. RONR (12th ed.), 63:11  Also,  usually, disciplinary matters are handled by the membership's assembly, not by its board unless the board is specifically granted these powers by the bylaws.

This should have been handled immediately at the meeting where the offense occurred, but again, unless the board is granted the power to handle disciplinary matters by the bylaws, their actions would have been limited. I suppose if a member wanted to introduce a motion censuring the offending member for his language that would be in order, but the motion to censure would carry no disciplinary action, if adopted.  It would just be the assembly going on record as disapproving of the offending member's behavior.

So tell us, do you have specific rules regarding discipline and this complaint process? 

Edited February 2, 2024 at 10:02 PM by George Mervosh

[suesm]

Policy 8.01.1 - Complaints and Disciplinary Action Policy All fees are non-refundable. Procedure: Privacy is of paramount importance during the process. The complaint form, located on the NKC website, will be completed, signed, and include the $50 fee. ● No fee will be charged for harassment complaints initiated by current Board members. The Board will organize a committee to address the complaint: a) The first stage will be to establish that the complaint appears to have merit. b) The committee will meet within 30 days of receipt of the complaint to decide whether to continue with its investigation or to dismiss the complaint. c) Should the board choose the latter, the complainant will be advised of the outcome. If the complaint is to proceed, the person(s) under review will promptly receive a copy of the complaint form and will have 30 days in which to respond. The committee will meet once all responses have been received, and no longer than 45 days after the complaint form was delivered to the member(s) under review. a) Disciplinary measures will range from no action, to a warning, to a suspension or other temporary disciplinary measures, to expulsion. b) Repeated infractions will result in higher levels of discipline. If the expelled member(s) wishes to appeal the decision: a) An independent arbitration committee will be arranged by the Board. Arbitration committee members will be solicited from other local dog clubs or the community, depending on the nature of the complaint. b) The fee for arbitration of an expulsion shall be $100.

 

Club Code of Ethics

Members hereby pledge to practice good sportsmanship at all times, and to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects well upon the Club. 

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Members will refrain from verbal aggression, insults, derogatory names or language, rumors or gossip, vandalism of personal or club belongings, threats, personal attacks, cyber bullying or any other action that could be construed as harassment

[Josh Martin]

On 2/2/2024 at 3:33 PM, suesm said:

At an executive meeting 8 months ago,  the discussion became very heated and a board member raised  their voice  at the board . They also told one of the board members who was making derogatory comments towards them to F--- Y-- .

Months later  [8 MONTHS]a x board member put in a formal complain about the board members behaviour at that executive meeting for using a swear word and shouting  and they are  seeking disciplinary actions against this board member due to that conduct.

Does Roberts rules of order have anything to say about the time line for  discipline for  conduct during a board meeting, specifically can old complaints be dug up .

As a general matter, there is no "statute of limitations" on disciplinary action under the disciplinary procedures in RONR.

In the particular case of disciplinary for words spoken in debate at a meeting, however, the disciplinary action (to the extent there is any) must occur "promptly after the breach occurs," which would mean (at the very least) at the same meeting.

"However, the only way in which a member may be disciplined for words spoken in debate is through the procedure described in 61:10–18, which may be employed only promptly after the breach occurs." RONR (12th ed.) 61:21

But I don't know that any of that matters, because your bylaws have their own rules for disciplinary action, and those rules take precedence over RONR. The rules in your bylaws do not appear to contain any "statute of limitations" on disciplinary action, whether or not the conduct occurred at a meeting.

[Tomm]

On 2/2/2024 at 3:00 PM, George Mervosh said:

Under the rules in RONR, one member may not prefer charges against another member. RONR (12th ed.), 63:11 

Could you please elaborate on that a little more? Seems a bit counter intuitive.

[Josh Martin]

On 2/3/2024 at 10:46 AM, Tomm said:

Could you please elaborate on that a little more? Seems a bit counter intuitive.

Under the disciplinary procedures in RONR, only the assembly itself may prefer charges, not an individual member. The step of preferring charges and holding a trial happens after the investigative committee reports. An individual member may make a motion to appoint an investigative committee.

[Tomm]

On 2/3/2024 at 11:10 AM, Josh Martin said:

Under the disciplinary procedures in RONR, only the assembly itself may prefer charges, not an individual member. The step of preferring charges and holding a trial happens after the investigative committee reports. An individual member may make a motion to appoint an investigative committee.

But how then does an individual member accuse or charge another member of the organization of a violation? Isn't that necessary to even start the process of discipline?

 Or is there a different definition between an accusation and charge?

 If I were to accuse the treasurer of stealing, wouldn't that be the charge?

[Gary Novosielski]

No, that would be a breach of decorum.  You can't go around accusing people.  If you have suspicions that someone may be stealing, all you can do is move to form an investigative committee.  See 63:9 for an example.  The resolution merely refers to "allegations which, if true..." would justify discipline, but the resolution does not assert that the allegations are true.  That can only be done by the report of that committee.

[Josh Martin]

I will first note that all of this concerns the disciplinary procedures under RONR, and if an organization has its own disciplinary procedures in its bylaws, those rules will take precedence.

On 2/3/2024 at 2:51 PM, Tomm said:

But how then does an individual member accuse or charge another member of the organization of a violation?

They don't. Only the assembly has the power to prefer charges against a member, and it does so after receiving the report of an investigating committee.

On 2/3/2024 at 2:51 PM, Tomm said:

Isn't that necessary to even start the process of discipline?

No, it is not. To the contrary, under RONR, the initial resolution to appoint an investigative committee should absolutely not include any charges or accusations.

"Accordingly, if the rules of the organization do not otherwise provide for the method of charge and trial, a member may, at a time when nonmembers are not present, offer a resolution to appoint an investigating committee. This resolution is to be in a form similar to the following:

Resolved, That a committee of… [perhaps “five”] be elected by ballot to investigate allegations of neglect of duty in office by our treasurer, J.M., which, if true, cast doubt on her fitness to continue in office, and that the committee be instructed, if it concludes that the allegations are well-founded, to report resolutions covering its recommendations.

To initiate disciplinary proceedings involving a member, a suitable resolution would be:

Resolved, That a committee of… [perhaps “five”] be appointed by the chair [or “be elected by ballot”] to investigate rumors regarding the conduct of our member Mr. N, which, if true, would tend to injure the good name of this organization, and that the committee be instructed, if it concludes the allegations are well-founded, to report resolutions covering its recommendations.

For the protection of parties who may be innocent, the first resolution should avoid details as much as possible. An individual member may not prefer charges, even if that member has proof of an officer's or member's wrongdoing. If a member introduces a resolution preferring charges unsupported by an investigating committee's recommendation, the chair must rule the resolution out of order, informing the member that it would instead be in order to move the appointment of such a committee (by a resolution, as in the example above). A resolution is improper if it implies the truth of specific rumors or contains insinuations unfavorable to an officer or member, even one who is to be accused. It is out of order, for example, for a resolution to begin, “Whereas, It seems probable that the treasurer has engaged in graft,…” At the first mention of the word “graft” in such a case, the chair must instantly call to order the member attempting to move the resolution." RONR (12th ed.) 63:9-11

You will note that neither of these sample resolutions contain any charges. Rather, they refer in vary vague terms to "allegations of neglect of duty in office" and to "rumors regarding the conduct of our member." The purpose of the investigating committee is to determine whether there is any veracity to these rumors or allegations and, if so, the committee might recommend preferring charges and proceeding further. An individual member cannot simply make accusations against a fellow member themselves.

On 2/3/2024 at 2:51 PM, Tomm said:

If I were to accuse the treasurer of stealing, wouldn't that be the charge?

If you were to accuse the Treasurer of stealing, the chair should immediately call you to order and demand that you stop speaking, and making such accusations may potentially open you up to disciplinary action.

Edited February 4, 2024 at 03:10 PM by Josh Martin