Who should adopt minutes for an annual members' meeting?

When a religious organization holds large annual meetings, the method of approving the minutes can vary depending on the organization’s governing documents. But where those documents don’t address the question, the answer can be a little difficult to find. The best answer is to delegate the authority to adopt minutes to a committee to avoid a long interim without an adopted record of actions taken. The next annual meeting can revise if necessary.

 

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).

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.

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.

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.
 

The answer to the first question is yes: an individual with DACA status meets the definition of U.S. person for tax purposes because the person is almost certainly a resident alien under tax law. This is because DACA status requires criteria that necessarily would mean the individual would meet the substantial-presence test.

The answer to the second question is not for the W-9. All the W-9 requires is the sworn statement that the signatory is a U.S. person. But there are other items that employers need to take care of, including Form I-9 from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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.

Roundup for November 15, 2014: Parsonage exemption, Buddhist and Presbyterian splits, rappers, free resources

Here are the posts from this week to the Law Meets Gospel feeds on Twitter, Facebook, and blog.

Posts to the blog

• Seventh Circuit holds challengers to parsonage exemption lack standing

 Stories from around the Internet posted to the feeds

• TX Breakaway Presbyterian congregation settles for $7.8M with PCUSA before hearing Story here.
• D.Utah: FLDS member with belief in secrecy excused from testifying about internal church affairs, cites #HobbyLobby. Story here. 
• Retweet: @LawMeetsGospel @PSRBlaw MT @TEMPLE_HERITAGE: YES! We are now a 501(c)(3). All donations are tax-deductible. Thank you Josh at Plews Shadley Original tweet here.
• 2nd Cir.: Synagogue may pursue RLUIPA-based challenge to denial of construction at historic site. Story here. 
• Megachurch leader threatens to sue rappers over remix. Story here.
• Cert. Filed In Ban On Church Use of New York City Schools. Story here.
•  Company seeks $250M from Los Angeles archdiocese. Story here.
•  Church boots AA group over gay weddings - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports. Story here.
• Notre Dame Asks For Supreme Court GVR In Contraceptive Coverage Challenge. Story here.
• Free Webinar—Nonprofit Engagement Best Practices by The NonProfit Times—Covers social media, fundraising, engagement. More information here.
• North Carolina Supreme Court Allows Direct Appeal of School Voucher Program. Story here.
• Minnesota Archdiocese Enters Historic Settlement In Clergy Abuse Case. Story here.
• NOT RELIGION: @PSRBlaw's Josh Tatum @LawMeetsGospel elected to IN State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section’s Council. Story here.
• Pastors Seek To Quash Subpoenas For Sermons, Communications. Story here.
• Pastor accused of affairs temporarily banned, turns over keys to building and church-provided Mercedes. Story here.
• FREE DOWNLOAD: #Nonprofit Board Stories & #LeadershipDevelopment Strategies. Download here.
• Same-sex marriage has been legal in Idaho for all of 2 days, and two ministers already face jail, fines. Story here.
• Two Ministers Ordered To Perform Same-Sex Wedding Face Jail, Fines. Story here.
• NY's high court considers neo-Pagan tax exemption case from @TimesUnion. Story here.
• All A-Board!: How Personalities Affect Your Board - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly. Story here.
• Houston Mayor Drops Pastor Subpoenas via @CTMagazine. Story here.
• W. D. Ky..: Catholic Hospital's Disability Plan Does Not Qualify as a Church Plan Exempt from ERISA. Story here.
•  Rogue pastors endorse candidates, but IRS looks away via @POLITICO. Story here.
• Constitution Check: Should the Supreme Court get involved in church property disputes? Story here.
• Jehovah's Witnesses to pay $13.5M for alleged child abuse via @fox5sandiego. Story here.
• 3 Unique YouTube Perks for Non-profit Organizations [Creator's Tip #167] - ReelSEO. Story here.
• Very interesting report on nonprofit C.E.O. pay. Religious leaders seem to be outliers. Story here.
• Court Rejects Free Exercise and Establishment Clause Challenges To California's Reparative Therapy Ban. Story here.
• Retweeted Plews Shadley (@PSRBlaw): PSRB attorney Josh Tatum @LawMeetsGospel helps @TEMPLE_HERITAGE obtain nonprofit status. #BethElTemple Original tweet here. Story here.
• Interesting article with helpful tips on transition in the top spots of nonprofits: Who'll Fill Their Shoes? Story here.
• @IUPhilanthropy Study: Younger, Non-Religious Women Give More #philanthropy. Story here.
• N.Y. App. Div.: Buddhist congregants can't sue over shuttered Manhatten temple, dissent would neutrally apply bylaws. Story here. Opinion here.
• D.C. Cir.: Compromise accommodation for religious nonprofits on contraceptive mandate passes RFRA test. Story here. Opinion here.
   

Have a question about legal issues affecting religious organizations? Let me know at questions@lawmeetsgospel.com, www.facebook.com/LawMeetsGospel, or @LawMeetsGospel.