For federal income tax purposes most churches qualify for exemption from tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Political speech by 501(c)(3) organizations can be divided into [...]
On July 24, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Nevada church’s request for an exemption from state orders that limit the size of worship services. The church claimed the state’s COVID-19 [...]
In a major decision handed down on June 30, 2020, in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the scope of religious liberty by requiring the state of Montana [...]
There are a number of legal defenses that churches can raise if a civil lawsuit is filed against them. These defenses include (1) negative defenses, where a claim can be defeated by disproving [...]
Child abuse in all its forms — physical, sexual, or mental abuse or neglect — is a crime in California, with additional criminal penalties if a victim is a minor (18 and younger) at [...]
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the consolidated case of Our Lady of Guadalupe School Morrissey-Berru St. James School v. Biel clarified and broadened the “ministerial exception” that [...]
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act barring sex discrimination in the workplace also protects LGBTQ employees [...]
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, churches in California have once again been prohibited from holding indoor services. Some churches have openly defied this latest order by continuing to [...]
The Paycheck Protection Program Loan Flexibility Act of 2020, signed into law on June 5, 2020, amends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to give borrowers more freedom in how and [...]
As Californians begin to return to the workplace, many employers are rightly concerned about the actions they should take if an employee tests positive for or displays symptoms of COVID-19. Here [...]