Church Law & Tax Report

Mandatory reporters who fail to report abuse can be subject to possible criminal liability and can be sued for money damages by the victims of abuse.

A denominational agency was entitled to the property of a local church following a vote to disaffiliate itself from the denomination.

Pastors who take money from their church without authorization, and fail to report it on their tax return, may be subject to criminal liability.

Most courts have concluded that they are barred by the First Amendment from resolving challenges by dismissed clergy to the legal validity of their dismissals.

The application of the ministerial exception to FMLA claims.

A church's protection from defamation lawsuits.

A federal court in Oklahoma ruled that a church was not liable on the basis of sexual harassment for the conduct of a minister.

A New York court ruled that a church could be sued by a former employee for discriminating against him on the basis of his religion and sexual orientation.

A minister's age discrimination lawsuit challenging a denominational policy requiring the retirement of ministers at 70 years of age was barred by the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

A court rejected a plaintiff's attempt to treat national, regional, and local churches as a "single employer" for liability purposes.