CURRENT SECTION BYLAWS
APPROVED BY THE MEMBERSHIP AT THE
JUNE 23, 2000
ANNUAL MEETING

Section 1. This Section shall be known as the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 2. The purpose of this Section shall be to study and report on laws, decisions and governmental regulations affecting employment and labor relations; to promote the fair and just administration of such laws and regulations; to study and report upon proposed legislation and to propose appropriate new legislation; to encourage members of the Section to meet and confer upon their various problems and to endeavor to define rules of conduct and procedures based upon fairness, equity, and a recognition of the responsibilities of employers, employees, labor and industry; and to promote cooperation, justice, human welfare, industrial peace and a recognition of the supremacy of law.

Section 1. Each member of the Section shall pay to the Treasurer of the Section annual dues of $20.00. Any member of the State Bar of Texas upon request to the Treasurer of the Section and upon payment of dues for the current year shall be enrolled as a member of this Section. Thereafter, said dues shall be paid in advance each year beginning on the July first next succeeding such enrollment. Any member of this Section whose annual dues shall be more than six months past due shall thereupon cease to be a member of this Section. Members so enrolled and whose dues are so paid shall constitute the membership of this Section.

Section 1. The officers of this Section shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.

Section 2. There shall be a Council which shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and immediate past Chair, all of whom shall be members, ex-officio, together with eight other members to be elected by the Section as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. The Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and Treasurer shall be nominated and elected, in the manner hereinafter provided, at each annual meeting of this Section, to hold office for term beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected, and ending at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting of the Section, and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

Section 4. At the first annual meeting of the Section, four members of the Council shall be nominated and elected to serve for one year, and four for two years (year, as herein used, meaning a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected and ending at the close of the first or second annual meeting of this Section respectively). Thereafter, upon the expiration of each of these initial terms, four members of the Council shall be elected at each annual meeting of the Section for terms of two years beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected and ending at the close of the second succeeding annual meeting of the Section.

Section 5. If any elected member of the Council shall fail to attend two successive meetings of the Council, the office held by such member shall be automatically vacated, and the Council shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. Attendance of Council members may be by telephone.

Section 1. Nominations. At the annual meeting of the Section, nominations for the offices of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and members of the Council may be made by the Chair and by any other member.

Section 2. Elections. Elections shall be by written ballot if a majority of those present so request.

Section 3. While not an absolute requirement, it is the purpose and spirit of these Bylaws that there be equal representation on the Council of attorneys normally representing labor organizations or employees and those attorneys normally representing employers. The Chair and Vice-Chair shall rotate annually between such representatives.

Section 1. Chair. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and of the Council. The Chair shall formulate and present at each annual meeting of the State Bar of Texas a report of the work of the Section for the then past year. The Chair shall perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to his office.

Section 2. Vice-Chair. Upon the death, resignation or during the disability of the Chair, or upon the Chair’s refusal to act, the Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair for the remainder of the Chair’s term except in case of the Chair’s disability and then only during so much of the term as the disability continues.

Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall be the custodian of all papers and documents of the Section. The Secretary shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section, and of the Council, whether assembled or acting under submission. With the Chair and Vice Chair, the Secretary shall prepare a summary or digest of the proceedings of the Section at its annual meeting. The Secretary, in conjunction with the Chair and the Vice-Chair, as authorized by the Council, shall attend generally to the business of the Section.

Section 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all books, funds, and other property of the Section. The Treasurer, in conjunction with the Chair and the Vice-Chair, as authorized by the Council, shall attend generally to the business of the Section. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all moneys appropriated to and expended for the use of the Section. The Treasurer shall deposit the funds of the Section in a separate account in any bank to be selected by the Council generally in the city where the Treasurer resides. Alternatively, the Treasurer will invest any part of the Section’s funds as directed and authorized by the Council in accordance with Article VI, Section 8 of these Bylaws. The Treasurer shall make disbursements from such funds as directed and authorized by the Council on checks signed by the Treasurer. Checks in excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) shall be countersigned by either the Chair or the Vice-Chair. Financial reports required to be made to the State Bar of Texas by Article VI, Section 7 of these Bylaws will be the responsibility of the Treasurer.

Section 1. The Council shall have general supervision and control of the affairs of the Section subject to the Rules governing the State Bar of Texas and the Bylaws of this Section. It shall especially authorize all commitments or contracts which shall entail the payment of money, and shall authorize the expenditure of all moneys.

Section 2. The Council may authorize the Chair, with the Vice-Chair, to appoint committees from Section members to perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Council may direct, subject to the limitations of these Bylaws and Rules governing the State Bar of Texas.

Section 3. The Council, during the interim between annual meetings of the Section, may fill vacancies in its own membership or in the office of Secretary, Treasurer, or, in the event of a vacancy in both the office of Chair, and Vice-Chair, then in the office of Chair. Members of the Council, and officers, so selected shall serve until the close of the next annual meeting of the Section or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

Section 4. Members of the Council when personally present at a meeting of the Council shall vote in person, but when absent may communicate their vote, in writing, upon any proposition, to the Secretary and have it counted with the same effect as if cast personally at such meeting.

Section 5. The Chair of the Section may, and upon the request of any member of the Council shall, submit or cause to be submitted in writing, to each member of the Council, any proposition upon which the Council may be authorized to act, and the members of the Council may vote upon such proposition or propositions so submitted by communicating their vote thereon, in writing over their respective signatures, to the Secretary, who shall record upon the minutes each proposition so submitted, when, how, at whose request same was submitted, and vote of each member of Council thereon, and keep on file such written and signed votes: such vote shall constitute the vote of the Council as provided in Section 4, above.

Section 6. No Council member may serve, in one continuous period of service, more than three terms (plus the remainder of one unexpired terms, if applicable) plus any officer positions, without first remaining off the Council for two full years.

Section 7. In accordance with part VI, Section 6.02.08.A of the State Bar of Texas Board Policy Manual, this Section is authorized to collect membership dues and govern expenditures of dues income. The Section shall submit to the State Bar’s Executive Director by July 15 each year a complete financial report for the preceding fiscal year ending May 31 and a Section budget for current fiscal year, which includes a balance sheet and income statement. Additionally, the Section will submit to the State Bar Accounting Department on a monthly basis all bank statements, along with all canceled checks and deposit slips and the check register. The establishment of or any revision in the Section’s dues requires approval by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 1. The annual meetings of the Section shall normally be held during the annual meeting of the State Bar of Texas, in the same city as such annual meeting of the State Bar of Texas, unless otherwise directed by the Council, with such program and order of business as may be arranged by the Council.

Section 2. Special meetings of the Section may be called by the Chair upon approval of the Council, at such time and place as the Council may determine.

Section 3. The members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 4. All binding action of the Section shall be by a majority vote of the members present.

Section 5. Any recommendation or declaration of the Section as to existing or proposed legislation, or as to existing or proposed governmental regulations or administration, in order to constitute the action of the Section, shall first have been approved by two-thirds of the Council and then by a majority of the Section; provided that the action must also be submitted for approval to the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 1. The Fiscal Year of the Section shall be the same as that of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 2. No salary or compensation shall be paid to any officer, Council member or member of a committee; actual expenses of the officers and Council members shall be reimbursed as approved by the Council.

Section 3. These Bylaws shall become effective upon the approval thereof by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

These Bylaws may be amended at any annual meeting of the Section by a majority vote of the members of the Section present and voting, provided such proposed amendment shall first have been approved by two-thirds or more of the Council, and provided, further, that no amendment so adopted shall become effective until approved by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

ADOPTED by the Labor and Employment Law Section on June 11, 1999.