IV: Contract Termination and Disposition of Deposits

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IV.A. Termination of the contract by the BSC

1. The BSC may administratively terminate the contract with the permission of a Central Level Supervisor under the following circumstances:

a. Failure of the member to meet any of the membership qualifications or obligations placed upon them by the BSC Member Contract, BSC By-laws, this Administrative Code, the BSC Articles of Incorporation, or the Constitution or By-laws of their respective unit, subject to the procedure prescribed in section IV.A.2 and IV.A.3 below. Disposition of the member’s deposit shall be at the discretion of the AdHoc Committee or designated staff.
b. Non-payment of bills — Members shall be terminated if they are delinquent by at least the following amounts: One full payment after the second payment day, one half of a full payment three weeks after the final payment day, $75 at the end of the semester. Exceptions may be made if payment schedules are made with the Administrative Team.
c. When a member or applicant does not claim their space by the Sunday of the first week of the semester or notify the BSC office prior to that date of late arrival, the BSC shall retain a cancellation fee from their deposit, as specified in the contract, and they shall be charged for room and board in accordance with the provisions of section IV.B.2.a until the BSC finds an acceptable substitute to accept the contract, and said substitute officially assumes the contract and begins payment. In no case shall an applicant whose contract has been terminated under this provision be considered to have earned any seniority within the BSC as a result of contract costs, regardless of the date of effective termination.
d. If a member has a health condition which in the opinion of a competent medical authority presents a clear and significant danger to the health of other members. The member’s deposit shall be refunded in this case.

2. Termination of contract under sections IV.A.1.a & b (except for workshift terminations) shall be conducted as follows:

a. The BSC will send a notice of prospective membership termination and eviction to the member in the form of a fifteen-day notice. Notice is to be emailed to the member. This notice shall include information explaining cause for termination, appeals procedures, and deadlines for appeal.
b. The member may appeal the membership termination to the AdHoc Committee (for administrative terminations) or the Conduct Appeals Committee (for conduct terminations). The member shall be informed of their right to appeal.
c. If, on the day of expiration of the fifteen-day notice the member has not remedied the cause for membership termination or filed an appeal with the Administrative Committee, the BSC will serve the member with a three-day notice of eviction. A process server will serve this notice.
d. During the following three days, the member shall have the opportunity to remedy cause for membership termination (such as paying delinquent rent or providing verification of their student eligibility), if the breach of contract is curable.
e. In the case of a three day notice to pay and/or perform covenant or quit, the membership termination will go into effect on the day of expiration of the three-day notice, an unlawful detainer will be filed, and delivered by a process server against the member who has not remedied the cause for membership termination. In the case of a three day notice to quit the member will be expected to vacate on the day of expiration of the three-day notice and will not have the opportunity to remedy the cause for membership termination.

3. Termination of contract under section IV.A.1.a, for workshift terminations only, shall be conducted as follows (this is a supplement to Policy III.A.7):

a. Per policy III.A.7. III.k the BSC will send 1) conditional contract and 2) a notice of prospective membership termination and eviction to the member in the form of a fifteen-day notice. Notice is to be emailed to the member. This notice shall include information explaining cause for termination, appeals procedures, and deadlines for appeal.
b. The member may appeal the membership termination to the Appeals Committee. The member shall be informed of their right to appeal.
c. If, as outlined in policy II.A.7.III.k.ii the member fails to comply with the terms of the conditional contract, the BSC will serve the member with a 15-day notice of pending membership termination. Absent a successful appeal, the member will be terminated and the BSC will serve the member with a three-day to quit.

4. Reinstatement

a. No person may request reinstatement more than once in a semester. The Administrative Committee Chair may waive this limit if the ex-member presents the Administrative Committee Chair with new evidence that may affect the decision.
i. All members requesting reinstatement must provide a compelling reason for AdCom to allow them to return.
ii. Examples of compelling reasons can include, but are not limited to, financial need, need for accessible housing, etc...
iii. The member's desire to live in the co-ops and/ or their satisfaction with their living situation shall not be deemed compelling.
b. Any member terminated for failure to meet student status requirements, failure to meet workshift requirements or for non-payment may be readmitted upon the approval of the AdHoc Committee.
c. Any member terminated for non-payment of bills at a balance less than $250.00 shall be automatically reinstated upon bringing their student account to a zero dollar balance.
d. Any persons wishing re-admission to the BSC, who has not been terminated but whose delinquent payments have been referred to a collection agency that keeps half of any debt collected as its fee, must secure permission by AdHoc before re-admission.
e. If the AdHoc Committee has denied requests for reinstatement in two different semesters, the person may not be reinstated.
f. Any person whose contract is terminated under the provisions of Administrative Code sections IV.A.1.a or IV.A.1.b, after having been reinstated under section IV.A.3.a, may not ever be considered for reinstatement.
g. Any person who would like to be reinstated to the BSC must resolve all debts with the BSC before they may ask to be reinstated by AdHoc.
h. Any member against whom the BSC has initiated eviction proceedings may not ever be considered for reinstatement.
i. Any member who has been terminated for conduct reasons or as a clear and present danger may only be reinstated by the same hearing body that removed them.
j. Any member who has been terminated for administrative or conduct reasons (other than nonpayment, student status, or workshift) may not apply for reinstatement within one year of their termination.

IV.B. Termination of Contract by Member

1. Without deposit retention or other penalty — Upon request of the member, the AdHoc Committee or Operations Manager shall terminate the contract without deposit retention or other penalty (provided the member has not delayed in notifying the BSC office of their departure) for the following reasons:

a. If a member is forced to leave the BSC due to non-acceptance by the University or withdrawal enforced upon the student by the University.
b. If a member is forced to leave the organization due to illness sufficiently severe to require withdrawal from the University. Medical evidence is required in such cases.
c. If a member is involuntarily inducted into active military service.
d. If a member is forced to leave the organization due to circumstances entirely beyond their control and reasonably unforeseeable to a degree that the member could not have submitted a notice of cancellation on time, as determined by the Operations Manager or the AdHoc Committee.
e. If a member is forced to leave the organization due to absolute economic hardship or family crisis as judged by the AdHoc Committee. The “absolute economic hardship” must not have been reasonably foreseeable such as to have allowed timely cancellation of the contract and must be documented as the cause rather than the result of the member’s untimely cancellation or departure from the BSC. Withdrawal from the University will not, in itself, serve as sufficient verification of absolute economic hardship or family crisis as grounds for waiver of contract rights or obligations by the member or the BSC.
f. If the Operations Manager (acting alone) wishes to deny a request under this section, the request will be referred to the AdHoc Committee.

2. With penalty

a. A room and boarder who terminated their contract after the deadline date for cancellation of their contract without meeting any of the above provisions in IV.B.1. shall have a cancellation fee retained from their deposit by the BSC, as specified in the contract. They shall be charged for room and board and any other charges in accordance with the provisions of the contract until the BSC releases them from the contract. The member may be released from the contract through the following process: Members who cancel or quit after the deadline are placed on a list, (the Replacement List), in the chronological order in which notice is received. When a new applicant signs a contract with the BSC, such new applicant shall be deemed to replace the next member on the Replacement List, regardless of the premises to which such new applicant is assigned. Alternatively, the member may be released from the contract by finding their own replacement, provided said replacement is not a returning BSC member or currently on the BSC waiting list for that term. Should a member request cancellation of their contract after the cancellation date, the BSC reserves the right to assign another applicant to the member’s room and to assign the member to another unit until they are released from their contract.
i. The deadline date for contract cancellation shall be the Wednesday of the seventh week of the previous contract period, set to the best of the BSC's ability.
ii. Applicants on the waiting list for the BSC have priority over applicants found by the terminating member.
iii. A member who has canceled their contract shall be responsible for their workshift hours until they move out of the unit.
iv. Persons canceling their contracts after the cancellation date shall not be held responsible for the cost of raw food, commencing three days after they officially leave the BSC.
b. If the AdHoc Committee feels that a member’s application for termination of contract has some merit but not sufficient to fall under any of the above IV.B.1. provisions, or if the committee feels that the individual delayed in submitting their application, they may issue a special ruling terminating the contract but requiring some penalty. The member may appeal this penalty, and shall be informed of their right to do so.

3. In the event the AdHoc Committee releases a member from any fines, penalties, or charges on the grounds that their unit’s negligence caused them to take the action which resulted in said fines, penalties or charges then the sum total of all aforementioned fines, penalties or charges shall be charged against the account of the negligent unit. The unit may vote at council to appeal these fines to the Appeals Committee.

[Last revised 5/2020]