Cause for Expulsion, Suspension, or
Censure. A member of the IEEE may be
expelled, suspended, or censured for cause.
Cause shall mean conduct that is
determined to be
a material violation of the IEEE
Code of Ethics, or
a material violation of the
Constitution, Bylaws, Policies, or
Operations Manuals of the IEEE that is
seriously prejudicial to the IEEE, or
other conduct that is seriously
prejudicial to the IEEE.
The Board of Directors at its discretion
may notify the membership of any expulsion,
suspension, or censure. Any such
notification may include a statement of the
circumstances surrounding such action.
Rights and Privileges. No person
who has been expelled from membership and no
member who has been suspended shall (during
the period of the suspension) be allowed any
of the rights or privileges of membership in
the IEEE. Service on committees and
boards, at all levels, shall be denied to a
person expelled or suspended (during the
period of the suspension) from the IEEE.
Member Conduct Complaints. The
Ethics and Member Conduct Committee shall
review complaints alleging conduct by an IEEE
member that constitutes cause. Complaints may
be filed by any IEEE member in good standing individually.
The Ethics and Member Conduct Committee
shall institute proceedings if it determines,
after a preliminary investigation, that there
is a reasonable basis for believing (1) that
the facts alleged in the complaint, if proven,
would constitute cause for expulsion,
suspension, or censure of the charged member,
and (2) that the facts alleged in the
complaint can be proven.
No conduct alleged to have occurred more
than two years prior to the date on which the
complaint is received shall be considered by
the Ethics and Member Conduct Committee except
that with respect to alleged acts of
plagiarism, the Ethics and Member Conduct
Committee shall consider only those complaints
received within ten years of the alleged act
of plagiarism.
The Ethics and Member Conduct Committee
shall not be required to initiate an
investigation unless the person(s) submitting
a complaint agree in writing to attend any
hearing instituted pursuant to Bylaw I-110.3,
if so requested by the charged member or the
Ethics and Member Conduct Committee.
The detailed procedures and requirements
related to the filing of complaints,
investigations, timelines, hearing board
procedures, and required reports shall be
specified in the IEEE Policies.
Hearing Board. The IEEE President,
with the concurrence of the IEEE Board of
Directors, shall appoint a hearing board to
hear each complaint when proceedings have been
instituted by the IEEE Ethics and Member
Conduct Committee. Each hearing board
shall consist of no fewer than five and no
more than nine IEEE voting members, none of
whom shall be currently serving on the IEEE
Board of Directors. In addition, alternates
for each hearing board shall be identified and
appointed to serve in place of one or more
hearing board members should such member(s)
become disqualified after selection.
The hearing board shall base its
decisions only on testimony and other evidence
presented at the hearing. The charged member
or such member’s authorized
representative shall have an opportunity at
such hearing to present testimony and other
evidence and to confront the evidence
supporting the complaint.
A finding by the hearing board that the
charged member’s conduct constitutes
cause, as set forth in Bylaw I-110.1, shall
require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of
votes of the members of the hearing board
present at the time of the vote, provided a
quorum is present. The hearing board may
either (i) recommend to the Board of Directors
the sanction to be imposed or (ii) request
that the Board determine the sanction to be
imposed. All findings and recommendations by
the hearing board shall be in writing.
If the hearing board finds that the
charged member’s conduct constitutes
cause, as set forth in Bylaw I-110.1, the
Board of Directors shall review the findings
and recommendations as to sanction, if any,
made by the hearing board. The complaint, all
evidence submitted to the hearing board, and
the written findings and recommendations as to
sanction, if any, of the hearing board shall be
made available to the Board of Directors.
Sanctions. Recommendations by the
hearing board and determinations by the Board of
Directors as to sanctions, as defined below,
shall be made by the hearing board or the
Board of Directors on the basis of the severity
of the wrongful conduct of the individual, the
extent to which IEEE’s interests were
prejudiced as a result of such conduct, and
other factors that the hearing board or the
Board of Directors considers relevant in the
circumstances of the particular case.
The sanctions which may be imposed by
the Board of Directors are as follows:
Censure which shall mean an official
reprimand. Such reprimand shall
be in the form of a letter from the
IEEE Board of Directors.
Suspension which shall mean that all
benefits and privileges associated
with the member grade held, at the
time the suspension begins, shall
cease for the period of the
suspension. The hearing board
shall make a recommendation on the
time period for suspension.
Expulsion which shall mean that the
individual shall no longer be a
member of the IEEE. All rights and
privileges of membership shall cease
and the individual shall be removed
from the membership rolls of the IEEE.
Final Action by the IEEE Board of
Directors. The final action of the
Board of Directors shall be by recorded ballot
at a meeting of the Board of Directors. If the
complaint was signed by a Director, such
Director shall not be eligible to vote.
Any other Director may disqualify
himself or herself on his or her own motion or
be disqualified by an affirmative vote of the
Directors voting on the question.
An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
votes of the members of the Board of Directors
present at the time of the vote, provided a
quorum is present shall be required to sustain
the hearing board’s findings as to
cause and to sustain any recommendations by
the hearing board as to sanction.
In the event that the Board of Directors
sustains a finding by the hearing board as to
cause, but either the hearing board made no
recommendation as to sanction, or the sanction
recommended by the hearing board is not
sustained by the Board of Directors, then the
sanction shall be determined by an affirmative
vote of two-thirds of the votes of the members
of the Board of Directors present at the time
of the vote, provided a quorum is present. The
Board of Directors may reduce, but may not
increase, the sanction recommended by the
hearing board.
Notifications. The Board of
Directors shall notify the member(s) charged
of the decision taken. Expelled
members’ names shall be dropped from
the membership rolls of the IEEE.
The Board of Directors, at its
discretion, may notify the membership of any
expulsion, suspension, or censure.
Notification may include a statement of the
circumstances surrounding such action.
Any such publication or notice to the IEEE
membership shall be issued through the office
of the IEEE Executive Director.
Readmission. Notwithstanding
anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, an
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes of
the members of the Board of Directors present
at the time of the vote, provided a quorum is
present, shall be required to approve the
readmission to membership of a former member
who has been expelled under the provisions of
this Bylaw.
Misrepresentation. If information
is presented to the Board of
Directors indicating that the application
for membership or transfer to a higher grade
contains apparent material misrepresentations
or false statements, the Board of Directors
shall investigate and provide the member an
opportunity to submit an explanation. If
the Board of Directors concludes that
such application contains material
misrepresentations or false statements, the
membership shall be terminated with notice
mailed to the member.
Requests for Support. The IEEE
may offer support to engineers and scientists
involved in matters of ethical principle that
stem in whole or in part from adherence to the
principles embodied in the IEEE Code of
Ethics, and that can jeopardize a person's
livelihood, can compromise the discharge of
the person’s professional
responsibilities, or that can be detrimental
to the interests of IEEE or of the engineering
profession. All requests for support
containing allegations against persons not
members of IEEE or against employers or
others, and matters of information considered
to be relevant to the ethical principles or
ethical conduct supported by IEEE shall be
submitted initially to the Ethics and Member
Conduct Committee. Requests for support
shall not include requests that the Ethics and
Member Conduct Committee support a member who
is the subject of a complaint as set forth in
Bylaw I-110.3. IEEE support of persons
requesting assistance or amicus curiae
participation in legal proceedings shall be
limited to issues of ethical principle.
The Ethics and Member Conduct Committee,
following a preliminary investigation of any
requests for support received, shall submit a
report to the Board of Directors, which shall
include findings and recommendations for
consideration by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors may, if it deems it
appropriate to do so, appoint an advisory
board to assist it in considering such
report. On the basis of information
available, the Board of Directors may
thereafter offer support to the person making
the request as appropriate to the
circumstances and consistent with Sections
7.9 of the IEEE Policies.
The Board of Directors may publish
findings, opinions, or comments in support of
the person and take such further action as may
be in the interests of that person, the IEEE,
or the engineering profession.
