This is a guest post by Robert Baty. You can read about him here.
Abilene Christian University led the way for the Churches of Christ, despite the facts and the law. That was back in 1970. Abilene was having tax problems. Rather than simply litigate the unresolved matter, Abilene called in Omar Burleson and George H.W. Bush who put the squeeze on the IRS and got an administrative rule that got it off the hook (Rev. Rul. 70-549). From then on, Abilene and other schools like Florida College, Oklahoma Christian, Pepperdine, et al, could have their employees register as “ministers” and receive income tax free ministerial housing allowances based on the “wink & nod” treatment of the schools as “integral agencies of the church”.
That should not be case, but it is, and the schools and their employees have been exploiting the “wink & nod” ruling for over 50 years.
Is there a down side?
There could be.
Consider the cases of Roy Byers at Florida College and Michael O’Keefe at Oklahoma Christian.
Both were tenured professors at their respective schools.
Both got fired and “due processes” were not followed to resolve the issues.
Both sued their schools for breach of contract.
Both schools invoked the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” (aka “church autonomy doctrine”/”ministerial exemption doctrine”) AFTER pursuing other, normal litigation strategies without success.
In the Roy Byers case, Florida College didn’t invoke “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” until after the litigation had gone on for 5 years and Florida College had worn out and broke Byers. Byers could not start over and filed a voluntary dismissal. The case was over and the Court was never allowed to test the Florida College “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” claim. Florida College got away with what they did to Roy Byers. The case got no publicity and Florida College, which prides itself on NOT being a religious institution or any part of any church, got by with it. The litigation in the Byers case started in 2016 and the case terminated in 2021.
In Michael O’Keefe’s case, he was fired in March of 2022. O’Keefe filed his suit against Oklahoma Christian in January of 2023 and the litigation continues to this day. In the beginning, the case received “worldwide” media attention, but that has waned since the litigation was dragging on without notable significance. In January of 2024, through a filing by Oklahoma Christian in the appeals court related to an interlocutory appeal, Oklahoma Christian announced its intentions to invoke the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” and asked the appeals court to lift the stay in place so that it could return to the district court and file its motion for dismissal as to all claims based on such doctrine.
The “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” stands for the proposition that the government/the courts have no jurisdiction to resolve disputes between the religious institution/church and its ministers.
As a matter of fact and law, Abilene Christian University, Pepperdine University, Oklahoma Christian University, Florida College, et al, have been founded on the principle/law that they are not religious institutions/churches or “integral agencies” of any church. They are private enterprises founded and operated by people with similar interests in higher education in the context of their religious beliefs.
The government/IRS made a big mistake in 1970 when it bowed to Bush/Burleson political pressure and decided to recognize such private schools as “integral agencies” of the church so they could hand out income tax free income to employees.
I have read where the government/the courts have been expanding the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” reach over the decades. I am not aware of other cases involving private institutions operated by members of the Churches of Christ, but I have been recently made aware of the Byers and O’Keefe cases.
Except for the moral influence that might be brought to bear on Florida College to “do right” by Roy Byers, it may be too late for him to challenge Florida College’s attempt to invoke the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” which goes against, historically, what Florida College stands for.
Michael O’Keefe, however, is well situated to challenge Oklahoma Christian University’s invocation of the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine” if they eventually, formally, file its motion to raise it. I look forward to that happening, and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
The docket records in the Byers in Hillsborough County, FL and O’Keefe in Oklahoma County, OK are available on-line at:
Hillsborough County, FL
Oklahoma County, OK
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I’m glad you’re writing on this. I suppose nobody has standing to sue the IRS on this clearly illegal regulation.
I like it thatyou include links to ways to find the cases, but it would be better to include the case numbers then, and best to link to the complaints or decisions.
Eric Rasmussen,
Thanks for the comments.
I was trying to be brief.
You can search the Byers and O’Keefe cases by name at the links provided.
On Rev. Rul. 70-549, it’s a little more involved. Peter has covered that in extensive detail in Forbes articles. You can search Forbes.com and find lots about all of that history.
“Standing” is certainly a problem when it comes to Rev. Rul. 70-549 and IRC 107. There is no political will to change IRC 107, and from what Annie Gaylor found out in the cases she litigated, it might take a better legal strategy in order to get to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court rule on the constitutionality of IRC 107.
By way of follow-up, update, it has now come to my attention that the following “ecclesiastical abstention cases” have events coming up in the near future:
1. McRaney v. NAMB – Oral arguments scheduled for April 4, 2024.
2. McMahon v. World Vision – Trial scheduled for June 4, 2024.
For details, Google them.
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Your information is very helpful and well-written; I appreciate you sharing it.