I am currently considering a "whistle blower" report of non-compliance of a local nonprofit. The president took it upon himself, without asking the board, and offered support to the executive director to terminate an employee. This was not the desire of the board. Now we have a mess because they terminated an employee who had almost 20 years of service. Three board members resigned as a response to her termination.
In addition, an elected official recommended who the nonprofit should hire for a position funded 50% by city council and 50% by the nonprofit. I thought it was illegal for an elected official to direct the hiring of anyone by a nonprofit.
I am not sure where you are getting your information, but it sounds like the nonprofit doesn’t have a very clear understanding of the separation of powers in its governance. Most boards are not directly involved in hiring or firing employees, other than the executive director or chief executive officer for whom they are directly responsible. In an organization of any size, it would be almost impossible for a board to be involved in every personnel change, even those involving long term (and previously valued) employees. The board normally judges the exec by what the exec is able to accomplish with the personnel he or she employs.
You don’t state the reason for the termination and we don’t know how it came about. The exec obviously consulted with the board president and may have assumed that the president spoke for the board. The problem here might be lack of communication between the president and the board, and not a problem with the exec.
I am not sure where non-compliance would come in or to whom you might report it. Although possible, it would be very unusual for the bylaws (or an employment agreement) to say that the exec could not hire or fire staff without the approval of the board. But if they do, they probably ought to be reconsidered.
As for elected officials making recommendations on hiring employees, it is done all the time. You and I could do it as well. A recommendation is different from a directive. A “directive” would undermine the exec’s position, which would be tough internally but is not likely a violation of law. Your exec might want to take this one to the board, however, even if it is only a recommendation, because it raises serious conflict possibilities that are not present in a normal hiring situation. Like nepotism, it could be an issue for organizational policy.
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