This document defines the APeX policy for dealing with individuals whose presence at APeX events may be deemed temporarily inappropriate. The formal grievance process is slow and complicated, making it ill suited to quickly evolving situations where harm may occur before any official action is taken. This policy allows the APeX Board of Directors to react quickly to ensure the safety and security of our attendees (both member and non-member), event locations, and corporate assets & interests in situations where harm may occur before the grievance process could be completed.
An Administrative Hold is a temporary order by the APeX Board of Directors to a specific named individual to refrain from attending certain named or all APeX events until the hold expires or additional action is taken. The hold terminology is selected as opposed to words such as “ban” so that the mechanism may be inclusive of any reason why it is temporarily inappropriate for an individual to attend APeX functions. The hold can apply to actions such as a bounced check or other clerical issue, accusations of consent violations, or other serious violations of APeX policy or the law.
Term
A hold is a temporary mechanism issued for a specified period of time or until a specific condition is remedied. Initial holds will be long enough to convene the Board of Directors in order to evaluate the situation and determine what further action is appropriate.
In some circumstances a hold may be issued until specific conditions are satisfied rather than an expiration date. IE for a hold related to a clerical issue, the hold may expire automatically when the issue is corrected. A hold applied for fiscal or similar reasons where some act is required to remedy the situation remain in force until the condition is addressed. The specific steps required to clear such a hold must be clearly outlined when the hold is issued.
A hold may be lifted prior to its expiration date by Board vote. If no action is taken, a hold expires at the end of its specified time period. Once expired, an administrative hold has no lingering effects on its recipient. All rights and privileges are restored to the individual without further action required by the Board.
A hold may be renewed if the situation merits additional consideration beyond what was provided for by the original hold. While the Board has unlimited authority and discretion to renew a hold as they deem necessary, a hold should not extend beyond 90 days except in approved circumstances. The Board must take definitive action as quickly as is judicious.
Situations which require the individual’s exclusion for a longer period should be handled under the formal APeX grievance process. Referring an administrative hold to the grievance committee automatically extends the expiration date of the hold until the grievance process is completed and the Board acts on the grievance committee’s recommendations. Any restrictions associated with the hold remain in place at least until the conclusion of the grievance process.
Applying Holds
A hold of up to 72 hours may be applied to any individual by a single APeX Board of Directors member. A hold placed by a single Board member may be renewed for at most one additional 72 hour period to allow for a quorum of the Board to convene. This short-term hold is intended to react to emergent situations for the minimum length of time necessary to bring the rest of the Board up to speed.
A hold beyond the initial 72-hour plus one renewal may be applied only by a majority vote of a quorum of Board of Directors members. This quorum and vote may be taken in person or via electronic means (phone, mailing list, video conference, etc.) in keeping with the APeX by-laws regarding Board of Directors meetings. Unless otherwise stated, these meetings are considered under executive session by Robert’s Rules as the situations discussed are likely to be of a sensitive and personal nature.
In cases where a quorum of Board members are present at the time a situation arises, it is appropriate for an initial hold of a longer duration to be placed at that time should Board members vote to do so.
When applying a hold, additional conditions may be imposed at the discretion of the Board of Directors before the individual may return. Examples of conditions include completing educational programs or reading, interviewing with the Board of Directors to report on what education or other personal growth has occurred, and mandatory supervision at future events.
Lifting Holds
A hold may be lifted by a majority vote of a quorum of Board of Directors members. A hold is implicitly lifted at the conclusion of the formal grievance process after the Board acts on the grievance committee’s recommendations for further action against the individual.
Scope
In cases where a hold is sought in response to accusations of wrongdoing, a temporary hold may be applied against all parties involved until the Board can evaluate the situation. In cases where there is a clear aggressor and victim, the Board is expected to act to lift the hold against the wronged party as quickly as practical.
Significant latitude is retained by the Board in applying this standard policy of “all parties.” In cases where a bad act is witnessed and a wronged party is in need of assistance, a temporary hold and order to vacate the event may be applied to the clear aggressor while the wronged party remains to receive assistance or care. Whenever possible, these decisions should be made by multiple Board members who are present at the event; but they may be made by a single Board member if only one is present. Such decisions are subject to review and revision by the full Board when they meet to discuss the hold(s).
Used in lieu of Grievance
An administrative hold may be an appropriate mechanism when an individual’s behavior merits a warning and temporary exclusion from events followed by a (possibly supervised) return to regular activities. By majority vote of the Board, as a final action an administrative hold may be extended for a maximum of six months with a formal warning delivered to the individual. Longer periods, actions involving revocation of membership, or other sanctions should be referred to the formal grievance process.
Such extended holds may be reevaluated or lifted at an earlier date as deemed appropriate by the Board.
Made Whole
In the event the Board determines that there was no wrongdoing or other grounds to apply an administrative hold, the Board may vote to take additional actions to compensate the individual for reasonable losses incurred during the hold. This may included prorated membership time, refunds for pre-paid events that the individual was precluded from attending, etc.
Communication
It is APeX’s general policy that personal issues remain confidential between the Board and the individual(s) involved. APeX will not initiate statements with respect to administrative hold proceedings or an individual’s hold status.
In the event of situations which are public knowledge, APeX may respond to questions in public forums to confirm that the Board is aware of a specific situation, to outline an approximate timeline for further actions, and to confirm that individuals will not be permitted at specific APeX events. Requests for additional information, specifics about the hold, etc. shall be declined with a referral to this policy. An example statement:
“The APeX Board of Directors is aware of this situation and has placed an administrative hold excluding the named individuals from attending the following events: … The Board of Directors will convene within 14 days to evaluate this situation. This administrative hold does not represent a finding of guilt or wrongdoing. No additional statements will be made about this situation until it is resolved. Please see http://… for information on the APeX Administrative Hold policy.”
Generally communications in public forums should be carried out by the APeX Secretary. Where public discourse about a situation reflects a mounting public concern about safety, and the Secretary may not be immediately available, any currently elected Board member is authorized to make initial statements in keeping with this section of the policy.
APeX may respond to private requests by other groups or individuals as to whether a specific individual is currently subject to an administrative hold for any reason. The response shall not include details about the reason for the hold. Only the status (hold / no-hold), expiration date, and a referral to this policy may be included.
Approved by the BoD April 29, 2018
