Author: Law Meets Gospel

Ex Officio Committee Members

Committees with ex officio members should include those people in their notices of meetings, but when someone is a member ex officio of all committees, the ex officio member is not counted when determining a quorum. (Typically, this is the president, but in the model constitution, this is the president and senior pastor.) These ex officio members are only different from regular members in their obligation to attend committee meetings. In other words, they have all the privileges of a member, but they are usually exempted from the responsibilities. On the other hand, when someone is an ex officio of a specific committee, that person has all the rights and obligations of another member, so the only difference is the method of selection (member due to office rather than other means of selection).

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Considerations when offered a planned gift

You’ve just received word that one of your long-time donors has decided to leave a large gift, but it’s in the form of a planned gift. It might be as simple as naming your organization in the donor’s will. Or it might be a more complex mechanism like a trust or an annuity. One of the questions you need to keep in mind is what happens if your group ceases to exist or changes its name. While the default legal rule is that any reference to your organization will be treated as referring to the group’s successor, there are situations in which that is not true. And thinking about the possibility at the time of the gift can save a lot of trouble later. Continue reading “Considerations when offered a planned gift” →

Seventh Circuit dismisses appeal, allowing Catholic teacher’s in vitro fertilization suit to go forward

This post is being published on both Law Meets Gospel and Indiana Education Law Blog.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend’s appeal from an order denying summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by a former teacher suing the diocese for firing her because she became pregnant through in vitro fertilization was dismissed by a decision. In the unanimous decision written by Judge Diane S. Sykes, the Seventh Circuit held that the appeal was filed too early because the summary-judgment order was not final. Continue reading “Seventh Circuit dismisses appeal, allowing Catholic teacher’s in vitro fertilization suit to go forward” →

What to do when hiring a person with DACA status

One of the biggest postelection debates in Washington surrounds President Obama’s legal authority to grant of legal status to undocumented immigrants. The discussion is the latest chapter in a series of events that included the Obama administration issuing in 2012 what has become known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA gave legal status to certain undocumented immigrants who were under thirty-one on June 15, 2012. Although the current debate is about expanding a similar status to others, which President Obama seems set to announce, this post covers the basics of DACA for the purpose of churches and other religious organizations hiring someone with DACA status. Specifically, it addresses which tax and other forms organizations first hiring someone with DACA status to use. In other words, it answers the questions whether someone who falls under DACA qualifies as an Other U.S. person as defined by form W-9 and,
if so, whether that person would need to meet other requirements or fill out
other forms.

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Indiana Church of the Brethren district cannot take title to breakaway congregation

A local district of the Church of the Brethren could not assume the title of the property of a Northern-Indiana congregation that broke away from the Anabaptist denomination, according to an opinion from the Indiana Court of Appeals. The congregation had not incorporated suggested language in its deeds or in its governing documents necessary to give the church the authority to take over the congregation’s property in the event of a split. Continue reading “Indiana Church of the Brethren district cannot take title to breakaway congregation” →

Seventh Circuit holds challengers to parsonage exemption lack standing

The Seventh Circuit unanimously rejected a challenge to the parsonage exemption brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, concluding that the Wisconsin-based, nontheistic group lacked the legal ability to challenge the statutory exception granted to “minister[s] of the gospel.” Because the Seventh Circuit concluded the plaintiffs did not have standing, it did not reach the question of whether the parsonage exemption runs afoul of the First Amendment. The opinion reverses a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin that held the provision unconstitutional as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (You can listen to the very interesting oral argument here.*)

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