FDA GLOBE:
FDA GLOBE does not collect dues, and does not lobby or take positions on purely political matters.
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FDA GLOBE
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA)
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender
Employees’ Forum
Charter and Bylaws
Article I: Name
The name of the organization shall be FDA GLOBE, the FDA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees’ Forum
Article II: Mission and Purpose
FDA GLOBE is an organization of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) and allied FDA employees whose mission is to foster an atmosphere at FDA that is open and inclusive of all employees regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
We seek to provide a forum for GLBT employees to meet, network, and discuss issues important to the FDA GLBT community; to represent GLBT employees to the FDA community; to provide guidance and recommendations to the FDA Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management (OEEODM) on matters affecting the welfare of GLBT employees and assist the OEEODM in fostering a workplace environment that is accepting and supportive of GLBT employees; to coordinate meetings, organize social activities, and sponsor educational programs open to all members of the FDA community; and to act as a resource on GLBT issues to the FDA community at large.
Article III: Organization
A. Executive Committee
1. Chair or Co-Chairs
2. Vice Chair
3. Secretary
3. Treasurer
4. Field Office Delegate
5. Standing Committee Chairs
B. Committees
1. Standing Committees
a. Finance
b. Communications
c. Events
2. Ad-Hoc Committees
C. Membership
1. All Members
a. Employed at FDA as an employee, contractor, special volunteer, fellow, or intern.
b. Dedicated to the Mission and Purpose of FDA GLOBE;
c. Of legal age of majority and shall not be denied membership with regard to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or pre-mariatal status, race, religion, creed, national origin, age, or disability.
2. Voting Members
a. A Voting Member as defined in Article VII of these bylaws;
b. A Voting Member may participate in any of the standing and ad hoc committees.
3. ListServ Members
a. A ListServ Member as defined in Article VII of these bylaws;
b. ListServ members may participate in FDA GLOBE events; however they may not vote or have decision-making authority over the organization.
Article IV: Executive Committee
A. All Executive Committee Members must be FDA GLOBE Voting Members in good standing as described in Article VII
B. Membership includes the Chair or Co-Chairs, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and the Standing Committee Chairs, or his/her designate
C. Members cannot serve in more than one position unless no other member of FDA GLOBE wants to hold said position
1. Chair or Co-Chairs
a. Elected by Voting Members to serve as the co-leaders of FDA GLOBE for a one-year term beginning January 1 and ending December 31;
b. May be re-elected for an additional year. After two years the Chair or Co-Chairs must step down and not fill said position for one full year. During this hiatus, said Chair pr Co-Chairs can serve in any other elected capacity;
c. Calls and chairs meetings of the FDA GLOBE Executive Board;
d. Chairs Standing and Ad-hoc FDA GLOBE General Membership meetings;
e. Liaisons with the FDA OEEODM and other FDA organizations to represent the membership of FDA GLOBE and the interests of FDA GLBT employees;
f. Partners with other National GLBT organizations to enhance FDA GLOBE’s mission;
g. Serves as an Ex-officio member of all committees and may attend their meetings.
2. Vice Chair
a. Elected by Voting Members to serve a one-year term beginning January 1 and ending December 31;
b. May be re-elected for an additional year. After two years the Vice Chair must step down and not fill said position for one full year. During this hiatus, said Vice Chair can serve in any other elected capacity;
c. In the absence of the Chair or Co-Chairs, serves as his/her designate;
d. Serves as an Ex-officio member of all committees and may attend their meetings.
3. Secretary
a. Elected by Voting Members to serve a one-year term beginning January 1 and ending December 31;
b. May be re-elected for an additional year. After two years the Vice Chair must step down and not fill said position for one full year. During this hiatus, said Vice Chair can serve in any other elected capacity;
c. Provides logistical support for meetings, including: notification of membership on the location and time of all meetings, distribution of meeting agendas and related materials, etc…;
d. Keeps minutes of both Executive and General Membership meetings;
e. Maintains the FDA GLOBE Member Roster and ListServe email list.
f. Chairs Communications Committee.
3. Treasurer
a. Elected by Voting Members to serve a one-year term beginning January 1 and ending December 31;
b. May be re-elected for an additional year. After two years the Treasurer must step down and not fill said position for one full year. During this hiatus, can serve in any other elected capacity;
c. Chairs Finance Committee.
4. Field Office Delegate
5. Standing Committee Chairs
a. Standing Committee Chairs have responsibilities as outlined in these by-laws (Article V: Committees, Section A)
D. Meets monthly or bi-monthly to review progress of Committees, discuss pertinent issues confronting FDA GLOBE and the FDA GLBT Community, votes or reaches consensus on decisions, and recommends approaches to implementing FDA GLOBE’s mission;
E. Approves Ad-hoc committee formation;
F. Sets the yearly schedule of General Membership Meetings within the confines of these by-laws.
Article V: Committees
A. Standing Committees
1. Finance Committee
a. Oversees of all FDA GLOBE financial matters;
b. Coordinates FDA GLOBE fundraising activities;
c. Provides bi-annual reports on FDA GLOBE financial health to Executive Board;
d. The Treasurer serves as Chair of the Finance Committee.
2. Communications Committee
a. Maintains and disseminates FDA GLOBE internal and external communications;
b. Maintains the FDA GLOBE website and membership ListServe, including posting or disseminating minutes and calendar events in a timely manner;
c. Maintains knowledge base of GLBT National events (provided by Field Office Delegates) and communicates pertinent event information to the membership;
d. Develops and oversees production of publication materials to include advertisements, brochures, etc…relevant to the mission of FDA GLOBE;
e. The Secretary serves as the Chair of the Communications Committee.
3. Events Committee
a. Coordinates social events for FDA GLOBE members and their families, and FDA employees, to meet outside of work or during lunch for social, cultural, recreational, volunteer, and community service events;
b. Partners with other Federal and non-Federal GLBT organizations, especially the National LGBT organizations to enhance the education and community experiences of FDA GLOBE members;
c. A Chairperson is elected by Voting Members to serve a one-year term beginning January 1 and ending December 31, and may be re-elected indefinitely.
B. Ad-Hoc Committees
1. Additional Ad-hoc Committees may be initiated by the Executive Committee or a simple majority of all Voting Members;
2. Serves for a distinct purpose and a set time frame, which may be expanded only through the approval of a simple majority of the Voting Members;
3. Chairpersons are elected by the Voting Members for the duration of the Ad-Hoc Committee; however, Chairs cannot serve for more than one year unless re-elected, and must step down after two full years;
4. Ad-Hoc Committee Chairs may attend Executive Board meetings but do not have a vote on the Executive Board.
Article VI: Vacancies
A. Executive Committee
1. When a vacancy occurs at the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee will elect any other voting FDA GLOBE member to the vacant position, provided that the period left in term is less than 6 months;
2. Where the remaining term of the outgoing committee member is in excess of a three (3) month period, the Executive Committee must attempt to fill the position;
3. To fill a position with a term greater than 6 months, the position must be opened to the normal election process and a replacement voted on within one (1) month of the resignation of the Executive Committee Member;
4. During the period between resignation and voting, a temporary Executive Committee Member may be designated with a simple majority of the Executive Board;
B. Standing Committees
1. Standing Committee Chair vacancies shall be handled as described in Article VI: Vacancies, Section A;
2. Standing Committee Sub-Chairs shall be the responsibility of said Standing Committee to fill.
C. Ad-Hoc Committees
1. When a vacancy occurs on an Ad-Hoc Committee, the Executive Board will elect a current member of the Ad-Hoc Committee, provided that they are also a voting member of FDA GLOBE, to the position of Chair for the remainder of the life of the Ad-Hoc Committee or a full year, whichever is shorter.
Article VII: Voting
A. Voting Rights
1. All Executive Committee Members, as defined in Article III, Section A and Article IV, will have voting rights in both the Executive Committee and General Membership meetings;
2. Executive Committee Members are held to the qualifications of Voting Members as described in this Article VII, Section A, Part c.
3. Voting Members
a. Shall have an FDA email address (fda.gov); or a government “tenant” email address (e.g. nih.gov) on file; or a home email address, and can show that they are employed by FDA/NIH.
b. Shall attend at least two (2) FDA GLOBE or local GLBT events (General Membership Meetings, Social Gatherings, Executive Committee, Meetings, PFLAG, etc.) per year.
4. ListServ Members
a. ListServ Members are those members that do not have a FDA or NIH email address, and prefer to ONLY use another email format (yahoo.com, google.com, etc..) for their files;
b. ListServ Members may enjoy voting rights by attending gatherings as listed in Article VII, Voting Rights, 3., b.
5. All Voting Members shall have voting rights in the General Membership Meetings.
6. All Voting Members shall have voting rights for Executive Board Elections.
B. Forfeiture of Voting Rights
1. If a person actively works to undermine the Mission and Purpose of FDA GLOBE.
C. Quorum
1. A quorum for General Member Meetings is defined as at least two (2) Executive Committee Members, and (2) General Members present (in person or phone), or via electronic proxy (email or other electronic communication signifying that they are exercising their right to vote by proxy);
2. A quorum for Executive Committee Meetings is defined as at least three (3) Executive Committee Members.
D. Proxy Voting
1. A member may vote by proxy by relaying their vote on advertised agenda items to the any Executive Officer via email or other means, at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting.
E. Decisions
1. Decisions shall be by a simple majority (50% +1) of all Voting Members present and those voting by proxy;
2. All votes will be recorded and published in the FDA GLOBE Meeting Minutes.
Article VIII: Executive Committee Elections
A. Eligibility
1. Any FDA GLOBE member in good standing is eligible to run for an Executive Committee Position;
2. Current Executive Committee Personnel are held to the eligibility requirements as outlined in Article IV.
B. Schedule
1. Elections for FDA GLOBE shall take place during the second week of December annually;
2. Voting Members (ListServ and Govt Email address members) will be sent an email by the Monday of the second week of December with instructions on voting procedures;
3. All voting must be completed by 5 pm on Thursday of the second week of December, and results announced by noon on Friday, of the second week of December.
C. Method
1. Voting will be done electronically via an FDA (fda.gov) email, government “tenant” email address (e.g. nih.gov), or home email of an FDA GLOBE member in good standing.
Article IX: Meetings
A. General Membership Business Meetings
1. General Membership Meetings shall be open to all members and prospective member of FDA GLOBE and the general public;
2. Meetings shall take place 3 times a year, with the first meeting taking place the third week of January every year;
3. A calendar for the remaining meetings shall be established by the Executive Committee, or suggested by any of the General Members, and submitted to the General Membership at the January General Membership Meeting;
4. Additional meetings may be called with the approval of a simple majority of General Members present;
5. All meetings will be open to the public and a record of all meetings shall be kept and made available via an FDA GLOBE website.
B. Executive Committee Meetings
1. The Executive Committee shall meet at least 6 times a year;
2. All Executive Committee meetings shall be open to the General Members and the public, and a record of all meetings shall be kept and made available via an FDA GLOBE website;
3. Closed Executive Committee Meetings may be held with prior notice to the General Membership, and the minutes not published with a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee. General Members have a right to inquire as to the topics discussed at the Closed Meeting.
C. Committee Meetings
1. Standing Committees
a. Standing Committees shall meet as needed to fulfill the responsibilities of the committee; The Chair of the Committee or Sub-committee may make this decision
b. All Standing Committee meetings will be open to the General Members and to the public, and a record of all meetings shall be kept and made available via an FDA GLOBE website.
2. Ad-Hoc Committees
a. An Ad-Hoc Committee shall meet on an ‘as needed’ basis;
b. All meetings will be open to the General Members and to the public, and a record of all meetings shall be kept and made available via an FDA GLOBE website.
Article X: Amendments
A. Proposals/Amendments/Revisions to Charter
1. Any Voting Member of FDA GLOBE may initiate proposals, amendments, or revisions to this Charter;
2. Proposals for amendments or revisions to the By-laws will be submitted via email to all Officers of the Executive Committee at least one month prior to the next regularly scheduled General Membership Meeting;
3. All proposed amendments and/or revisions shall be made public on an FDA GLOBE website at least two weeks prior to the vote on said proposals.
B. Approval
1. Charter and By-law amendments and revisions shall become effective after approval by a majority of the General Membership voting at the General Meeting at which they are discussed; and upon submission of a copy of said Charter amendments and/or revisions to the Director, FDA OEEODM.
Article XI: Adoption
These Bylaws were approved by FDA GLOBE: The Food and Drug Administration’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Employees' Forum on ______________ and submitted to The FDA Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management on _______.
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Co-Chairs, FDA GLOBE Date
