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Mike Tadych quoted on closed meetings in Fairmont, NC


June 12, 2014 About SMVT

The Fairmont Board of Commissioners took action related to a town employee in a closed session this week, did not announce the action taken, The Fayetteville Observer reports. In the story, SMVT partner Mike Tadych discusses the open records law.

Disciplinary action, or recommending a candidate for a job interview, can be done in private, said Mike Tadych, a lawyer with the North Carolina Press Association.

More serious action related to an employee is only allowed to be taken during a private meeting, depending on who makes hiring and firing decisions for the municipality, he said.

If the town’s board of commissioners or council members have the authority to hire and fire employees, it can take action in private. However, if the town has a manager or administrator that makes those decisions, the board of commissioners or council members do not have authority to take action in private meetings, Tadych said.

“Provided it wasn’t the removal or termination of the person, they can do that in closed session,” he said. “If they don’t have the authority to fire, they shouldn’t be having a discussion on this person anyway.”

The entire story can be read here.

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