Celeste, This is done all the time in all kinds of businesses as is the practice of changing job descriptions and making employees reapply for their jobs. What is or is not legal in employment depends mostly on laws that can vary widely between states - the Federal laws are pretty well known. I once was in an employee meeting for a large organization where one of the managers running the meeting said, "The Constitution doesn't apply to us!". And as shocking as that first seems it is entirely true. The constitution applies to the actions of government. Employers can control and restrict employee speech, they can practice search and seizure on company grounds, you usually do not have a right to bear arms on company property, etc. If a state has an "At Will" policy for employment law then you can be released at any time for any reason or no reason at all. There is a customary social assumption of what are fair or unfair practices by employers but they pretty much can get away with anything and what usually reigns them in is their exposure to potential or real lawsuits. Now most employers and institutions are great and you don't encounter heavy handed or oppressive tactics but they can and do happen sometimes. If you are considering a position with a new employer do your homework and find out how they treat their employees and if there is a history of things such as eliminating positions, etc. Talk to people who work there or who used to work there. And if you discover disagreeable practices you may just want to look elsewhere. Cheers! Dave David Harvey Conservator Los Angeles, CA On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 5:18 AM, Celeste Sauls <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > To add a wrinkle to this, has anyone experienced an ED who uses this method > to remove employees. I've been wondering about the legality of doing this. > > > > Celeste > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Janet Marstine <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:09:22 PM > Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Elimination of an Executive Director > > I have recently founded the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall > University and many museum professionals have shared stories with me about > such conflicts with museum boards. What I'm wondering is what > educationl/training you have found most useful for museum boards or what > could be be useful. I know there are some great board members out > there. How might these insightful board members help create "buy in?" > > Janet Marstine > Assistant Professor, MA Program, Museum Professions > Director, Institute of Museum Ethics > Seton Hall University > 400 S. Orange Avenue > S. Orange NJ 07079 > www.museumethics.org > > On May 22, 2008, at 4:18 PM, Sarah Griswold wrote: > > THis is much like what happened to me. I continue to be angry about how > it was handled. > Sarah Griswold > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Richard Fields <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:59:47 PM > Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Elimination of an Executive Director > > > Here is a link to a story in the Portland Tribune about a museum that > eliminated the Executive Director position, temporarily. All of us who have > worked in museums have seen board members and EDs have differences (I know I > did), but I have seldom seen it written up in a local news story. Anyway, > here is the linek. As a side note, I do not know anyone involved, and have > never been to the museum. I just thought it an interesting bit to share. > > > > http://www.portlandtribune.com/metro_news/story.php?story_id=121141750813006600 > > County historical society drops executive director > > By Darryl Swan > > > > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > > > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).