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Winter weather advisory: snow, gusty winds, ice, and bitter cold are hitting much of our nation, with the Polar Vortex bringing wind chills of 50 below or worse this week in parts of the Midwest.

How should churches address inclement weather issues for their employees? And are ...

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Election Day is upon us—and churches as employers need to note their potential legal obligations to give employees time off to vote.

As Kiplinger Letter recently noted, 29 states keep laws on the books that require employers to accommodate voting time of between one and ...

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The mere act of sending a text to another person does not create liability, even if the texter knows that the recipient is operating a motor vehicle. People often receive text messages while driving a vehicle, and choose not to read or respond to them. Texter liability arises ...

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It’s considered to be the “biggest religious liberty case of the year”—and this morning, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Jack Phillips, the owner of Colorado bakery Masterpiece Cakeshop, who had refused (on religious grounds) to make a gay couple’s ...

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The ministerial housing allowance is “the most important tax benefit available to ministers”—but since October 2017, that benefit has faced an uncertain future.

A refresher: On October 6, Judge Barbara Crabb of the District Court for the Western District of ...

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This case study originally appeared in “Creating Sexual Harassment Policies for Church Workplaces,” a feature article in the March/April 2018 issue of Church Law & Tax Report.

A federal district court in Oklahoma ruled that a church could be sued on the basis ...

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To help churches better understand some of the issues involved with volunteer drivers, ManagingYourChurch.com talked to Frank Sommerville. He is an attorney and editorial advisor for ChurchLawAndTax.com.

What should you know before allowing volunteers to drive on behalf of the ...

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Taking minutes arguably tops the list of “most thankless jobs,” and those who assume the role often wish they hadn’t been such a willing volunteer. But accurate minutes are a parliamentary procedure “must” for all nonprofits—including homeowners’ ...

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This past year’s most popular articles on ManagingYourChuch.com show the wide variety of financial, legal, safety, and tax matters that church leaders face. This list is based on unique page views in 2017 of articles published throughout the year.

10.“9 Tips for Planning ...

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1. Prepare job descriptions for all employees. Be sure to itemize essential job functions. These are functions that are job related and required by business necessity. Do not list functions that will not be required in performing the job in question.
2. Review job application forms and eliminate any question that segregates or classifies applicants on the basis of disability.

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Editor’s Note: Last Friday, Judge Barbara Crabb of the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin struck down the ministerial housing allowance as an unconstitutional preference for religion. Senior Editor Richard R. Hammar offers five takeaways from this ruling, ...

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As relief efforts continue across areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, three Texas churches sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) this week after their application for disaster relief grants had been denied.

According to Church Law & Tax sister publication Christianity ...

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A pastor falls off a ladder while hanging a banner. A volunteer trips while playing with second-graders in the kids ministry. A staff member gets injured during an on-site church activity.

Injuries are surprisingly common at churches. Responding quickly to them can help get an ...

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Around a year ago, attorney Richard J. Mathews shared lessons he learned from advising the Boy Scouts of America during the organization’s child sexual abuse crisis. ManagingYourChurch.com recently interviewed him regarding what churches should know about insurance coverage ...

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The South Carolina Supreme Court has reached a split ruling in a case involving a breakaway diocese of the Episcopal Church, stating that the now-separate diocese will not be able to keep the historic properties it tried to claim from the denomination—properties worth ...

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The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled on its most important religious freedom case of the year, and they ruled in favor of a church.

Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer was a lawsuit brought by a Lutheran church against the director of the Missouri Department ...

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On May 4, President Trump signed an executive order (full text here) concerning religious liberty. Promises to “destroy” the Johnson Amendment—a provision in the US tax code that restricts churches’ political activity—have long been part of the ...

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Kevin Donohue spent decades building networks for wireless companies before switching sides to represent landowners through his work with Tower Genius—a consultant firm that helps churches, businesses, and private citizens with lease agreements. He spoke with ManagingYourChurch.com ...

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Recently, conversations about immigration have been surfacing in headlines, in our communities—and in our churches. Church Law & Tax talked with immigration attorney Analí Gatlin Looper about the sanctuary church movement, resources churches can use to learn ...

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Form I-9 Changes in January 2017

Recently the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new version of its Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification form, and required US employers to begin using the new Form I-9 by January 22, 2017. Currently, US Immigration ...