Religious Use Law in South Florida
California readers most likely are aware of the fact that California's nonprofit corporate law is triadic. Thus, it possible to organize a nonprofit corporation as a public benefit corporation, a mutual benefit corporation...more
In Immanuel Baptist Church v. City of Chicago, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that the City of Chicago had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons...more
Churches and other religious organizations can file petitions to sponsor foreign workers for religious worker (R-1) status in the United States—a status that can last up to five years. However, poor planning and well-meaning...more
The California Corporations Code allows for the incorporation of a corporation sole by the bishop, chief priest, presiding elder, or other presiding officer of any religious denomination, society, or church, for the purpose...more
The City of MilwaukeeHouse with Calculator (and various other municipalities) has sent its Biennial Property Tax Exemption Report and Filing Fee Notices. Owners of tax-exempt real property in Wisconsin must file a Form PC-220...more
The Church of the Celestial Heart is a California nonprofit religious corporation seeks to import and use a sacramental tea. It so happens that this tea, which is also called Daime or ayahuasca, carries trace amounts of a...more
Congress continues to pass laws that move 403(b) plans ever closer to 401(k) plans, but 403(b) plans remain distinct. Understanding these differences allows you to maintain a compliant plan that best serves the needs of your...more
The decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley School District, ___ F.Supp.3d ___, 2023 WL 3182934, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75001 (May 1, 2023) is a...more
What is It? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 to document the history and legacy of residential schools, which were operated between the late 1800s and the late 1990s by the...more
On October 11, 2023, Governor Newsom signed SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act (also known as "Yes in God's Back Yard" (YIGBY)), which promises to be one of the momentous housing bills of 2023. Sponsored by...more
Supreme Court Decides Freedom of Speech Trumps Public Accommodations Law In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21-476 (June 30, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed 6-3 the lower courts' denial of the injunction the plaintiff...more
Donors State Claims for Misuse of Their Funds, But Not as a Class Action - In Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias Int'l Ministries, Inc. No. 1:21-CV-3161-TWT, 2022 WL 1540206 (N.D. Ga. May 13, 2022) and Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias...more
IRS Inquiries and Examinations, Generally – Sections 6201 and 7602. Generally, the IRS is authorized and required by 26 U.S.C. § 6201(a) “to make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes” imposed by the...more
Vaccination Mandate Conforms with First Amendment In Kane v. De Blasio, No. 21 Civ. 7863, 21 Civ. 8773, 2022 WL 3701183 (S.D. N.Y. Aug. 26, 2022), the district court ruled that New York City Department of Education employees...more
The Mercury News – December 6- Just one day after the start of the new legislative session, Senator Scott Wiener announced Senate Bill 4 — the “Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act.” The bill would remove red tape for...more
U.S. courts have traditionally been reluctant to become involved in internal disputes within a religious organization. These concerns are based on First Amendment prohibitions against interfering with a church’s or...more
CASES OF NOTE - GRAVE MATTERS: THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTIES CONTAINING BURIAL SITES - Church of the Holy Spirit of Wayland v. Heinrich, 2022 WL 1419702, 101 Mass. App. Ct. 32 (2022)....more
Maine Scholarship Program Excluding Sectarian Schools Unconstitutional. In Carson v. Makin, 142 S.Ct. 1987 (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court struck a tuition assistance program that requires school districts to transmit payment...more
Section 17910 of the California Business & Professions Code requires every person who regularly transacts business in California for profit under a fictitious business name to file a fictitious business name statement. ...more
An intra-congregational dispute over control of church bank accounts led the Wakefield Missionary Baptist Church to a schism that forced out a senior pastor, saw church doors locked, and resulted in competing factions...more
Religious Exemption to States' Mandatory Vaccination Statute Not Necessary In Does 1-6 v. Mills, No. 1:21-cv-00242, 2021 WL 4783626 (D. Me. Oct. 13, 2021), the court denied injunctive relief to plaintiff healthcare workers...more
If you thought that church plan litigation was effectively over after the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the traditional interpretation of the ERISA church plan definition in its 2017 decision in Advocate Health Care...more
On December 10, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced that any person entering an indoor public place in New York State must wear a face covering, unless the public place has a vaccine requirement. The announcement was in response...more
Morals Clause Ruled Not Within Title VII Religious Exemptions Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful "to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any...more