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SCOTUS Broadens Employers' "Ministerial Exception" Protections

July 9, 2020

The Supreme Court of the United States has significantly broadened the scope of legal protections for religious employers against employment-related claims. The Court’s July 8, 2020 decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe Sch. Morrissey-Berru St. James Sch. v. Biel,[1] clarifies and broadens the so-called “ministerial exception,” which forbids or excepts courts from intervening in employment-related disputes involving workers engaged in religious activities. This important legal protection promotes First Amendment religious freedom rights by avoiding secular courts’ interference with employment decisions that may involve religious aspects. 

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NONPROFIT LAW NEWSFEED

Piedmont Healthcare Pays $16 Million in False Claims Settlement

07/09/2020

The Citizen Piedmont Healthcare — owner of Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Fayetteville — in federal court on June 25 agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to resolve false claims allegations dealing with Medicare and Medicaid billing.

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Supreme Court Lifts Ban on State Aid to Religious Schooling

07/07/2020

The Republic By a 5-4 vote with the conservatives in the majority, SCOTUS upheld a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling in which almost all the recipients attend religious schools – effectively lifting the ban on state aid to religious schooling.

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Congress Legislative Options May Help the NCAA Find NIL Consistency

07/06/2020

ESPN The NCAA's board of governors announced in late April that it supports a set of proposed rule changes that would open up a variety of opportunities for all of their athletes to make money. There are at least a handful of legislative options already in motion that would push toward a uniform nationwide set of changes. Each takes a significantly different approach to arrive there.

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The True Extent of Religious Liberty in America, Explained

06/24/2020

The Dispatch An outline of the key federal statutory and constitutional protections for religious liberty, which exist even after Bostock v. Clayton County.

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What's Open (And What's Not) As The IRS Resumes Operations

06/22/2020

Forbes The Internal Revenue Service is reopening, albeit slowly.

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Property Appraiser Targets Selby Gardens’ Tax Exempt Status Again

06/19/2020

Sarasota Herald-Tribune The Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office challenge to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ tax-exempt status was thwarted this year, before arguments over whether the $58 million property should be taxed were made.

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Matthew Kerner Caught Purchasing Personal Campaign Material Using Funds from Opportunity House, Inc.

06/12/2020

Mountaineer Journal In an exclusive Mountaineer Journal investigative report, we have evidence suggesting that Matthew Kerner used funds from Opportunity House, Inc. to subsidize material for his 2018 House of Delegates campaign.

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IRS Rules Target Coaches at Duke, Notre Dame, Hospital Chiefs

06/11/2020

Accounting Today The IRS issued guidance on Friday that implements a change in the 2017 tax overhaul, and levies a 21 percent excise tax on some nonprofit employees' salaries above $1 million.

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Rules Loosened For In-Person Church Attendance in Dane County

06/10/2020

Wisconsin State Journal Churches in Madison and Dane County can now follow the same rules as any other local business regarding in-person attendance after the Madison Catholic Diocese challenged as unconstitutional earlier this week the limitations for places of worship in the local coronavirus reopening plan.

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IRS, Treasury Issue Final Regulations Providing Relief for Certain Tax-Exempt Organizations

06/04/2020

Sierra Sun Times - The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have issued final regulations clarifying the reporting requirements generally applicable to tax-exempt organizations.

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Piedmont Healthcare Pays $16 Million in False Claims Settlement

07/09/2020

The Citizen Piedmont Healthcare — owner of Piedmont Fayette Hospital in Fayetteville — in federal court on June 25 agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to resolve false claims allegations dealing with Medicare and Medicaid billing.

READ MORE

Supreme Court Lifts Ban on State Aid to Religious Schooling

07/07/2020

The Republic By a 5-4 vote with the conservatives in the majority, SCOTUS upheld a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling in which almost all the recipients attend religious schools – effectively lifting the ban on state aid to religious schooling.

READ MORE