New Code of Conduct

Here is the New Code of Conduct that P&P has been working on. Everyone PLEASE read it! There will be a vote sent out early next week to see if this is the C.O.C we will be using.


Participation in the league is optional and voluntary. All members and associates of the league assume obligations for performance and behavior reasonably imposed by the league to support its mission. The obligations go beyond standard obligations imposed by civil and criminal law for the good of the league.




1. Members/associates will respect the health, safety, welfare and rights of all people
(including themselves).
Violations:
a. Incapacitation due to abuse of alcohol or other controlled substance in a public or private setting that poses a threat to the health of the member/associate, others or property or an excessive burden on others

b. Threatened/attempted physical harm or other conduct beyond normal sport conditions
that threatens the safety of the member/associate herself (himself) or others

c. Unauthorized possession of firearms, weapons, illegal fireworks, ammunition; the use
of these items or anything which simulates such items in acts which threaten or frighten
others

d. Hazing

e. Sexual Misconduct

f. Intimidating, stalking, harassing, verbally abusing, bullying or any other conduct which
has a substantial disruptive influence on another individual. This applies to all people on
and off the track.

g. Public conduct which is lewd, indecent, disorderly or obscene for the venue
h. Complicity with others in violation

3. Members/associates conduct themselves responsibly at all League Events
Events will be announced as Sober events which means that the following rules will
apply. Bouts, Practices and any event where a member or associate will be on skates are
automatically classified as Sober events.

Violations:
a. Consuming or being under the influence of alcohol or any substance that impairs
cognitive or motor abilities while performing duties at a Sober event.
b. Possessing alcohol or illegal substances if it violates a site’s rules.
c. Complicity with others in violation

4. Members/associates will respect the property of others.
Violations:
a. Unauthorized possession, destruction, use, taking or vandalism of public/private property.
b. Repeated or willful failure to pay League dues/fees in a timely manner.
c. Complicity with others in violation.

5. Members/associates respect the policy and procedures of the league.
Violations:
a. Conduct which disrupts and impairs league functions (practices/scrimmages/bouts/public
appearances)

b. Refusal to cooperate or failure to carry out a reasonable directive of a league member
acting in the performance of their duties barring extraordinary circumstances

c. Misrepresenting or falsifying official paperwork or making false statements regarding
league business or procedures

d. Failure to comply with WFTDA safety regulations during practices, scrimmages, home
and/or away bouts

e. Willful failure to satisfy the terms of a disciplinary sanction

f. Providing false testimony to HR regarding disciplinary issues

g. Using privileges or power granted by the league for personal gain or to cause harm to
the league or a league member/associate

6. Members/associates are responsible citizens.
Violations:
a. Felonious conduct regardless of when or where it occurs.
b. Any violation of the code in which the accused based the selected person or target of the
violation based upon gender, race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, sexual
identity or nationality.

Definitions:
Incapacitation - Impairment to the point where the individual’s mental or physical capabilities are
markedly diminished

Complicity - Planning, condoning, supporting or encouraging a violation of the code of conduct.
Members and associates are expected to remove themselves from the situation if a violation is occurring and report the violation.

Sexual Misconduct - Any act which is sexual in nature committed under duress, by force or
without the consent of those involved. Consent is incapable of being given if the person is considered to be incapacitated for any reason (alcohol, drugs, illness, etc).

Hazing - Any act committed by a group meant to cause embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule
to, or which involves participation in a code violation or illegal acts or which causes or places in danger of causing physical or mental harm to any member/associate of the league

When I click on the link I am not able to see the COC. Do I have to have a google account to see this?

Patches O'HulaJam wrote:When I click on the link I am not able to see the COC. Do I have to have a google account to see this?

Possibly...i can copy and paste it on here...it just gets broken up...i'll do that just in case tho! please hold!!

OK, I changed it!! sorry guys!!

I would appreciate a league meeting in which members can ask questions and really understand these new proposed code of conduct rules step by step to insure we all are informed before voting. Knowledge is power.

Okay, as a person that was involved in drafting them. There are a few things to note.

1. If voted in, they're applied going forward and cannot be applied to actions that ocurred prior to the code's acceptance by the league.

2. I used a standard college-level student code of conduct as my guideline when writing them up, this is all the behavior that is expected from 18 year olds. These were even loosened up from that guideline.

3. These are the basis for filing a grievance with HR. All this means is that if it's not covered, you can't really complain to HR about someone's behavior. If no one has an issue with the behavior and no one files a grievance, it's a no impact situation (to put it in derby terms).

This might be a silly question but where's 2? It jumps from 1 to 3.

Patches O'HulaJam wrote:This might be a silly question but where's 2? It jumps from 1 to 3.

I think it was just numbered wrong. I looked at the original and its that way too

i understand that howser, i just think people coming together to ask questions and understand fully what it all means is a good thing. i know i had a lengthy conversation with you about it already. but without that convo i don't know that i would have understood what all this means just by reading it.

Horror Crux wrote:

Patches O'HulaJam wrote:This might be a silly question but where's 2? It jumps from 1 to 3.

I think it was just numbered wrong. I looked at the original and its that way too

It jumped to 3 on accident it seems. There is no 2. I'll move it from google docs to word since I have nothing but trouble with google docs it seems now.

aMOXIEcilla wrote:i understand that howser, i just think people coming together to ask questions and understand fully what it all means is a good thing. i know i had a lengthy conversation with you about it already. but without that convo i don't know that i would have understood what all this means just by reading it.

I'm down for a league meeting there are some other things we all should talk about too. It would need to be before originally planned because this should be voted on before the fresh meat come in. Anyway we look at it the COC will be changing but we should agree on it, and P & P has put in alot of work on this thanks P & P

I agree with Moxie as well. I think meeting as a group to help everyone be as educated as possible on the policy is important. I also think it is good to discuss issues that people identify in the policy. Optimally, it would be nice for people to present solutions when we they see problems. That way people can help present positive change instead of people merely complaining. I am by no means indicating that I think you are complaining Mox, I am just building on your idea and saying we need people to discuss concerns and solutions.

Agreed with u 100% ross

The idea of a meeting about this is great. I would love to explain and answer any questions.

Open communication is key to any relationship and business! This code of conduct and the other pieces that the p and p committee are working on will all be presented and voted on by the league. This is out first piece completed and presented and I was excited to see what people have to say. 

There will be some changes and additions but that's what this first step is about. We also have some wftda codes of conduct that we will need to follow and incorporate as an apprentice and almost full wftda league.  We are a business and a sport and there will be rules added and changed for years to come. 

I have no doubt in my mind that we can come together as a team, as the MissFits we are, and do some good positive discussion! 

Thank you p and p committed for working hard on putting this together! 

Would we be voting on this policy as a whole? I'm just asking in case the majority of the league agree with most points and disagree with some. Like if there are a couple of rules that most people dont agree with but a few do, would they be thrown out or stay because the majority agrees on the rest?

There's no line item veto. It either all gets passed or all gets rejected.

If it's all rejected, P&P revises based on feedback and then it passes through the internal P&P approval process and then moves back up to the league approval process.

Has this been reviewed by an attorney yet, or is it going to be?

Machete Crocker wrote:Has this been reviewed by an attorney yet, or is it going to be?

It's not going to be reveiwed by an attorney because it's not a legal document.

This isn't a contract in the sense that you're under any legal obligation. There's no legal penalty for failing to follow the code once it's been voted in. It will just become a requirement for membership to a voluntary organization which are being put in place to protect it's members and the league itself.

These are standard in almost any organization.

this has taken awhile to get and a lot of thought was put into it. obviously this is a league vote thing, but we'll get through it if everyone has an open mind and is respectful of those that put it together and the thoughts of those with questions. we need some changes if we're going to go forward as a wftda sanctioned league, which is something we can all agree we're working towards.

And just FYI, before we are able to be a fully WFTDA chartered team we are all required to sign their CoC which is practically the same document.

I think I'm just getting really confused here....my old league had the board which consisted of every head of a committee and the president, vp, etc. They basically did everything but handle grievances, in which we had a grievance committee for. I feel kinda dumb for asking but Im just confused in what role everything plays. I was newer when we voted for P and P and did not understand what it was for and voted against it cause I was uneducated about it. Like what exactly is the board in charge of? what is HR in charge of other than what I thought were soley grievances, and what does P and P do? Sorry Im just really confused and if someone can answer this it doesnt have to be on ths thread, a message would be suffice. Thanks in advance!

Great question Sass, here is a break down:

So the P and P committee works on updating our policies and procedures.  Meaning we have had some changes come about and needed to make our bylaws, grievance policy, leave of absences, transfer policy and code of conduct re-looked at and re-written.  Also, since we are moving towards full WFTDA charter league (yay!) there is codes of conduct WFTDA follows that we needed to incorporate in our documents.  So the league voted on a committee to do this. 

In addition, there is one board member liaison (Nonny) and one HR member liaison (Ross) that works with the P and P to answer questions and make suggestions.  For example, the P and P committee worked on the code of conduct presented it to the hr and board liaison and then I presented it to the board for any changes or questions, then we presented it to the league. 

Now the HR’s role is for all personal issues.  LOA’s, transfers, exit interviews, grievances, keeping skater files up to date, medical notes, etc.   The board and hr work close with one another. 

Lastly, the board makes sure the league as a whole is kept intact.  The board sees that the leagues’ mission statement is being true.  The board makes sure there is progress with moving towards our WFTDA charter, and progress within our committees.  Responds to all inquiries to the leagues emails, maintains finances, sets up and leads league meetings and discussions, contact for the interstate center, ywca, bj and the board is the one who works towards our league becoming a 501c3.  There is also maintaining the forum, communication between other leagues on a situational basis, monitoring attendance and taking/posting notes at the league meetings.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions. 

 

******Board/HR/P and P: Please add any roles/duties that I have missed.  

Thanks Nonny! That helped a lot. Ties things together for me

hellsmelle wrote:And just FYI, before we are able to be a fully WFTDA chartered team we are all required to sign their CoC which is practically the same document.

Why don't we just adopt that now if those are the standards and policies we'll be adopting eventually anyway? To me, that seems a lot simpler and less confusing than hopping around trying to follow more changes.

Chete, I think thats because there are maybe a few things that may be significant to add into our own organizations policy's that may not be stated in the WFTDA code of conduct and we need to be clear. Also when we become WFTDA we all have to follow their code of conduct because WFTDA can suspend you from games or tournaments if you do not follow it.

http://wftda.com/press/atomatrix-suspension

In other words, other WFTDA members can file grievances against you this is not just a league-wide standard.