Three occasions to contact APA

The Division Engagement Office (DEO) and the Office of General Counsel (OGC) are here to help division leaders with matters of running a division, including avoiding legal pitfalls. In this article, we cover three situations where APA’s Rules or Bylaws require a division to be in touch with APA. The following touchpoints are sometimes overlooked, but the DEO and OGC can assist with other questions and issues as well. You do not have to tackle these issues or any challenge alone.

Divisions that are in the process of revising or amending their bylaws are asked to submit proposed changes to the DEO. Review of proposed changes can prevent potential conflicts with restrictions outlined in the APA Bylaws and Association Rules, and with current APA policies and procedures. Changes in bylaws can have consequences that are not intended or envisioned by a division and the review by staff can help the division avoid such issues. The APA Bylaws (Article VI, Section 7) require that each division file a copy of its current bylaws, rules of procedure, committee and governance structure, and chapter and section information with Central Office. The Division Engagement Office is the repository for information regarding the structure and functioning of divisions. The division is further required to submit amended or revised bylaws as changes occur. Learn more at Division Officers Handbook, Chapter 1, Division Bylaws, Regulations and Committee Structure.

Pursuant to Association Rule 100-1.7, all division contracts and grants over $10,000 must be submitted to APA for prior legal and financial review. An exception is routine, annually recurring events or expenses, such as meetings. However, because common issues with event contracts be easily be avoided, OGC recommends a legal review of these as well. OGC will advise on some standard provisions to read carefully in hotel contracts, such as cancellation, force majeure/impossibility, governing law and dispute resolution and any deposit information. OGC staff are happy to review any contract of any amount. As a reminder, OGC maintains many templates, including a independent contractor agreement template, to make the contracting process easier for divisions.

The APA Association Rules state that a division may release a position or policy statement on public policy matters in its own name and field so long as the statement “complies with all relevant association bylaws, rules and current association policies” and the statement does “not establish or enforce standards for ethics, accreditation, certification or credentialing of specialty recognition” (Association Rules 100-1.4). Divisions are not required to make the determination as to whether or not a statement fits these criteria—it is determined by the formal review process, which is why every statement is subject to the review. Learn more at Want to make a statement?

For help with any of these items and any questions, please contact your Division Engagement liaison.