Whether you’re a church with one employee or a hundred, you need to be prepared for employment issues. That’s because these issues frequently lead to legal concerns for churches. Questions abound about whether to hire a certain candidate, conduct background screening on employees and volunteers, fire someone, or offer severance, among other things. Then there are myriad issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, and what work looks like with the virus now part of daily reality.   In short, every church needs to be prepared for HR matters.   In this episode, Erika is joined by Tiffany Releford, a partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, who focuses her practice on labor and employment law representing large and small organizations, including nonprofits.     Show Notes  “Four Key Employee Issues Unique to Churches—and How to Navigate Them,” by attorney Frank Sommerville   “Church Employment Issues that Lead to Litigation,” by attorney and senior editor Richard R. Hammar   ChurchLawAndTax.com’s Legal Library section on Employment (also found in Chapter 8 of attorney and senior editor Richard R. Hammar’s Pastor, Church & Law, Fifth Edition)   Tiffany Releford   Subscribe to Church Law podcast to get each new episode and join us on this journey!   Questions? We welcome them! Please email Erika Cole at [email protected]   See all episodes of Church Law.   The Church Law podcast is part of Christianity Today’s ChurchLawAndTax.com, a not-for-profit publishing ministry.   Erika E. Cole, Esq., known as The Church Attorney®, is one of only a handful of attorneys in the nation who practices exclusively in the area of church law. She currently serves as a senior editorial advisor for Christianity Today’s ChurchLawAndTax.com.   Headshot of Erika by Eagle Lens Media | Podcast Editing by Brian A. Brown           Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices