The CONECA By-Laws call for a Grievance Committee. Though grievances against CONECA members are very rare, the Board of Directors believes there should be a standing committee with clear guidelines. To that end, President Mark Lighterman appointed four members to the Grievance Committee:
Mark Lighterman, Chair
Ron Fern
Larry Meiteles
Larry Nienaber
And, the CONECA Board of Directors adopted the following “Grievance Committee Guidelines” on April 30, 2014.
Combined Organization of Numismatic Error Collectors Of America (CONECA) Grievance Committee
Guidlines
The CONECA Grievance Committee is a standing committee established in the CONECA By-Laws.
“A Grievance Committee consisting of a minimum of three members of the club, one of whom shall be a Board member who chairs the committee, shall be appointed by the President. All grievances against a member of the club shall be submitted to and investigated by this committee. The committee shall do its best to resolve the grievance. However, should the committee be unable to do so, the Chairman of the Grievance Committee shall brief the Board Secretary on the findings and recommendations of the Grievance Committee. The matter will then be presented to the Board for a vote upon resolution of the situation. The decision of the Board is final; failure to comply with the decision of the Board could result in disciplinary action by the Board.” (Article V. Section 4)
It is chaired by a member of the Board designated by the CONECA President and includes at least two other CONECA members appointed by the President.
When a member of the Board receives a written complaint about a CONECA member, (s)he shall forward it to the Chair of the Grievance Committee with a copy to the CONECA Secretary.
The Grievance Committee Chair, in consultation with the other members of the Committee, shall promptly determine whether or not the complaint is a grievance that should be handled by the Committee. If the complaint is a grievance to be handled by the Committee, the Chair shall contact the person making the complaint, confirm that (s)he wishes to proceed with the grievance procedure, and request any additional information the Committee may need to assess the grievance.
For example, the Grievance Committee may choose to handle a grievance against a member who is alleged to have made frequent specific public statements that discredit CONECA. Or, it may choose to handle a grievance against a member who has accepted a fee to examine or attribute a coin, but has not fulfilled the agreement within a reasonable time.
At a minimum, a grievance that will be handled by the Committee should contain:
– The full name of the person filing the grievance.
– The full name of the CONECA member against whom the grievance is being filed.
– A detailed and specific account of the problem that prompted the grievance.
– The efforts made by the person filing the grievance to rectify the situation.
If the complaint is not a grievance that should be handled by the Committee, the Chair shall notify the person making the complaint that it is not being accepted as a grievance to be handled by the Committee and the reason why.
For example, the Grievance Committee may choose not to handle a grievance that is already being handled in anther forum such as a court of law, in mediation, or in a grievance procedure by another organization. Or, it may choose not to handle a grievance against a member who made a mistake in a transaction but took steps to correct the error in a reasonable amount of time.
After reviewing the grievance that has been accepted for assessment, the Committee shall contact the CONECA member against whom the grievance has been filed and inform him/her of the name of person filing the grievance and the details of the grievance, suggest that (s)he contact the person filing the grievance to discuss and rectify the situation, and request a written response to the grievance describing the actions (s)he has taken to rectify the situation or provide an explanation as to why the situation should not be handled by the Committee.
If the member against whom the grievance has been filed does not respond in 21 days, the Committee shall presume the grievance is substantiated and forward it to the CONECA Secretary for action by the Board. If the person against whom the grievance has been filed does respond, the Committee shall discuss both the grievance and the rebuttal, make efforts to help the parties resolve the grievance, then make an assessment and send it and a recommendation to the CONECA Secretary.
The Grievance Committee should move with deliberate speed, but delay completing its assessment as long as it appears that the parties are making progress toward rectifying the situation.
The Grievance Committee’s assessment and recommendation could include:
– The grievance has been resolved, and the Board of Directors should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and unfounded, i.e., more likely to be untrue than true, and the Board should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and unsubstantiated, i.e. just as likely to be true as untrue, and the Board of Directors should take no action.
– The grievance is unresolved and substantiated, i.e., more likely to be true that untrue, and the Board should take some action such as a written warning or suspension or expulsion from the club.
Unless the Board of Directors sends the grievance back to the Committee for further assessment, the work of the Committee is done when its recommendation is sent to the Board of Directors. The Committee has no authority to take any action on the grievance other than facilitating resolution, making an assessment, and making a recommendation to the Board.
The Committee Chair shall keep a summary of the grievance which will include the name of the person against whom the grievance was filed, the name of the person filing the grievance, a short summary of the grievance, and a note of the Committee’s recommendation to the Board. The log shall be forward to the Chair’s successor.
For further information contact Mark Lighterman
Mark Lighterman
5224 West SR 46, #408
Sanford, FL 32771
mlighter@bellsouth.net