Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASD: BBSI) reported it is willing to consider a request for a special meeting on Feb. 21 to replace all but one current board member — as long as the request complies with the law. The statement follows a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when a shareholder group seeking to replace the board reported it was informed by the company that a special meeting would not be held.

The shareholder group includes Kimberly J. Jacobsen Sherertz, the widow of former Barrett Chairman and CEO William Sherertz.

“Contrary to Ms. Sherertz’s most recent SEC filing, the board has never stated, publicly or privately, that it will not call a special meeting of stockholders,” said Barrett Chairman Anthony Meeker. “In fact, management and the board have been diligently preparing for such a meeting in light of repeated statements by Ms. Sherertz’s attorneys, as recently as last Friday, that a revised request from holders of record of the required percentage of shares would be submitted shortly.”

Meeker continued, “We must conclude from yesterday’s 13D filing either that Ms. Sherertz is unable to produce the required documentation described in our counsel’s Jan. 13 letter to her attorneys or that she and her advisers have decided to drop their request for a special meeting for other reasons.  For them to act as if we denied a valid request is misleading to our other shareholders.”

The shareholder group’s SEC filing indicated nominations for new board members would be brought at the company’s next annual meeting.

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Barrett provides commercial staffing and professional employer organization (PEO) services. It is based in Vancouver, Wash.