Hi all: I agree with Chris but I'll expand a bit further. The general response should be that it is a personnel matter and it would be inappropriate to discuss it. Period. Most people will understand that and respect such a response. If they don't, well, that will tell you something about the person you are talking to. You drop your guard just a little bit and the next thing you know, you are being quoted all over the chat rooms about how the ARRL "fired that no good ......" Be careful. Never underestimate the position you are in as a Director of an organization, or Vice Director for that matter. You never know when the person pounding you for scoop is going to quote you, or perhaps, without your knowledge, secretly record your comments (yep, that's legal in some states). Radio Shack sells nice little voice activated ones that fit in a shirt pocket. In the old days, you use to hear it go click when the tape ran out but now you don't. I've had cases where top level managers, and Board members like us, have been sued for defamation and discrimination based on secretly recorded comments. Funny, those cases never go to trial and you never hear about them. 73, K5UR -----Original Message----- From: Chris Imlay <w3kd@aol.com> To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Mon, Dec 7, 2009 1:38 pm Subject: [arrl-odv:18300] Re:Words to avoid Well, Jim, let's try it without the kilt...this time, laddie. I should note at the outset that I am not an expert at labor law; Rick Roderick is; and he will, I am quite certain, tell us if any of the following is incorrect. Rick does not hesitate to correct folks when he discovers an error they have made. Or maybe that just applies to me. :-) The premises of your e-mail are spot-on: ARRL's representatives cannot, consistent with their fiduciary obligation to the Corporation, make representations about staff departures, because to do so may affect the departed staff member, or be perceived to do so adversely, and thereby expose the Corporation to liability. While Directors are entitled to information concerning staff departures if they ask, they should not disclose such infomation at all to third parties. While certainly a Director will feel awkward when asked what the circumstances surrounding a staff departure were, whether or not a person was fired, etc., a response to such a question is (a) inappropriate, and (b) unnecessary. It is inappropriate for the reasons stated above. It is unnecessary because members are simply not entitled to answers to such questions. They have no right to know the circumstances of a staff departure. Normally (and this applies pretty much across the board with organizations) when a person leaves an organization for any reason, the only information that is subject to disclosure is (a) the fact of the person's departure, e.g.: "X is no longer a member of the staff" and (b) the effective date of the person's departure. I think you will find if you call almost any company for references on a potential job hire of a former employee, you will be told that the only information that is available is when the person was hired and when the person left the employ of the employer. That would be the case regardless of the circumstances of the person's departure. There is no reason why that is not a complete response to an inquiry from a member. If the member asks for the circumstances of the person's departure, the response from the Director should simply be that it is (1) inappropriate for the person to ask, and (2) it would be inappropriate for the Director to discuss. Both are true. So you should decline the opportunity to discuss it. If you want to minimize the risk of offending the inquring ham, you can of course omit poining out that it is inappropriate for the ham to ask. You should, however, say # (2) above and no more. As a corollary to the above, I realize that the current topic of discussion on the ODV remailer is about whether all information to which Directors are entitled should be available to Vice Directors as well, if so, when. I don't want to stir up any hornet's nests here, but one issue about which there may be a line to be drawn between the two groups is with respect to staff departures. Directors are entitled to most information about staff departures if they ask. Vice Directors, not being members of the Board (See Article 4 of the Articles of Association and Bylaw 14), are not likewise entitled to such information. There could, therefore, be a delay in notifying Vice Directors about staff departures in some circumstances to a time after the Directors are notified, and there could be a difference in the information provided to Directors and that provided to Vice Directors. Normally, however, no information about the circumstances of staff departures is appropriate for dissemination in written formats anyway. Jim, for Directors, the key (I think) is to avoid any evaluative or qualitative remarks at all about a staff person's departure. I hope this helps. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: K8JE <k8je@arrl.org> To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Mon, Dec 7, 2009 1:23 pm Subject: Words to avoid As somewhat of a build on the OD/ODV discussion, I wonder if it would be seful to ask Chris, W3KD to offer a few words of caution regarding what oard members should or should not say in announcing a departure from staff? believe we all know such departures could result in unpleasant legal ction if handled improperly. On the other hand, it can also be quite wkward to have members contact me, for example, asking if it is true that so and so" was fired, is no longer with ARRL, etc. before HQ has released he official notice. I believe a dishonest answer to these questions would e of no benefit to the director or the League. Similarly, although one ould plead ignorance to the details of the situation, we look rather idiculous (or ignorant) if we plead we know nothing of the departure. Knowing what type of words to avoid or to use when we are drawn into iscussion of such unwelcome situations would be helpful. I think a few inutes of Chris' eloquence (with or without kilt) would be useful. FWIW. Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director RRL Great Lakes Division 065 Bethany Rd. ason, OH 45040 -mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661 RRL - The national association for Amateur Radio