May 18, 2018

Sixth Circuit: Volunteers are not Entitled to a Minimum Wage

When is a volunteer an "employee"? The question is a complicated one, but the Sixth Circuit recently rejected the Department of Labor's attempt to require a church-owned enterprise to pay all volunteers a minimum wage. A church run by controversial televangelist Ernest Angley owns a for-profit restaurant buffet. Angley would recruit church members to serve as volunteers for the restaurant. The Department of Labor sued alleging that the workers were "employees," arguing 1) that there was no such thing as a "volunteer" for a for-profit entity, and that 2) the workers were coerced by their pastor and thus were not truly volunteers. The District Court agreed. Facing a judgment of $388k, the restaurant closed during the litigation.

Employment/Religious Organizations
May 16, 2018

“Who Owns My Church?” Seeking Supreme Clarification on Church Property Rights

When a local church or other house of worship leaves a denomination for theological or other reasons, who or what keeps its real property and other assets?  Given the ever-shifting lines of the American religious landscape, this is unfortunately a perennial question – for religious organizations and sometimes for the courts, too.   In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly resisted efforts to address property rights battles between the Episcopal denomination and breakaway local churches. A newly filed petition arising from a South Carolina court ruling against a local church may present just the right Supreme Court opportunity to resolve lower federal and state courts’ conflicts about how best to balance First Amendment rights among denominations and their local churches.

Property/Religious Organizations
March 7, 2018

Thanks Anyway, Uncle Sam: Churches Don’t Need Government Protection from Politics

In a letter to Congress dated February 7, 2018 (“Letter”), 145 faith-based and secular organizations raised hue and cry against the inclusion of Section 116 of House Bill H.R. 3280 within the proposed federal appropriations bill for 2018 (now incorporated into 115 H.R. 3354). Section 116 does not directly repeal the Johnson Amendment’s prohibition on political campaign involvement by churches and other Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Rather, it provides stringent measures to protect against overzealous governmental interference with constitutionally protected houses of worship, effectively preventing the IRS from revoking churches’ tax-exempt status for partisan communications during election seasons.

Religious Organizations/Tax Exemption

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