BCG’s bylaws provide for a system of discipline and dispute resolution in order to enhance public confidence in the work of Board-certified genealogists.
BCG’s bylaws provide that each certified associate be subject to discipline for conduct in violation of the Genealogist’s Code. [Bylaws: Article 9, Sections 1-5.]
BCG will provide its dispute resolution service as an expeditious and low-cost alternative to litigation, to resolve disputes between its certified associates and any members of the public who agree to accept its determination as a final and binding resolution of the matters in dispute, and consent to enforcement of the board’s determination by appropriate legal process in any tribunal having jurisdiction over the person or property of the parties. (The consent form is available as a PDF file here.)
The dispute resolution process is set out in the Discipline and Dispute Resolution policies (available as a PDF file here) and consists, first, of mediation and, second, of binding arbitration.
When a dispute complaint against a certified associate is resolved during mediation or arbitration, copies of the following documents will be placed in the certified associate’s permanent file:
– the original letter of complaint;
– the final letter from BCG to the complainant and the certified associate confirming that a settlement was reached during mediation or arbitration.
Appeal
The certified person shall have the right to appeal the determination of the Executive Committee as to individual discipline to the full board in writing within thirty (30) days after receipt of the executive committee’s determination.
The BCG trustees, when deciding appeals from executive committee decisions on complaints or disciplinary actions, shall consider only evidence and complaint-related records previously available to the executive committee, unless clearly relevant evidence was withheld from the executive committee by an interested party. The decision of the board shall be by two-thirds affirmative vote and shall be final and binding, and shall be made available to the certified person in writing with reasonable promptness and included in the certified person’s permanent file.