Beginning June 30, 2024, the District of Columbia will have a stronger wage transparency law, which applies to employers of all sizes.  Below is a summary of the changes:

Screening and Salary Inquiries Prohibited
Under the amended law, employers won’t be allowed to screen job applicants based on their wage history, including by requiring that an applicant’s previous compensation fall between, above, or below certain minimums and maximums. Employers also can’t request or require that applicants provide their wage history as a condition of being interviewed or considered for employment. Employers also can’t seek an applicant’s wage history from their prior employer.

Wage history includes all information related to compensation from other employment, including but not limited to pay structure, bonus plans, benefits, paid time off, non-monetary perks, and salary increases.

Pay Ranges Required in Job Postings
Employers in D.C. will have to provide a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly pay range they expect to pay for the position being advertised. The estimate must include a minimum and maximum. This applies to all job listings and position descriptions, including internal postings for promotions and transfers.

Healthcare Benefits Disclosure
Employers will need to inform applicants about healthcare benefits they’d be eligible for if hired, and this needs to be done prior to interviewing. Employers can meet this obligation by putting the information in the job ad.

On July 1, 2024, the minimum hourly wage increased in the following jurisdictions:

Alameda: $17

Berkeley: $18.67

Emeryville: $19.36

Fremont: $17.30

Long Beach hotels with 100+ guest rooms: $18.16

Los Angeles City: $17.28

Unincorporated Los Angeles County: $17.27

Malibu: $17.27

Milpitas: $17.70

Pasadena: $17.50

San Francisco: $18.67

On July 1, 2024, the District of Columbia minimum hourly wage increased to $17.50. The minimum base wage for tipped employees will increase to $10 per hour.

On July 1, 2024, the minimum hourly wage in Montgomery County increased to the following: 

• 1–10 employees: $15
• 11–50 employees: $15.50
• 51 or more employees: $17.15
• 11 or more employees and the employer is tax exempt under § 501(c)(3): $15.50
• 11 or more employees and the employer provides home health services or home or community-based services (as defined by federal law) and receives at least 75% of gross revenues through Medicaid: $15.50
• The minimum base wage for tipped employees remains $4 per hour.

In 2023, Fidelity Charitable, the largest grant maker in the US, distributed a record-setting $11.8B to nonprofits according to an article from the Associated Press.  Given the increased use of donor advised funds (DAFs), the IRS is proposing new regulations that could potentially include a 20% excise tax on donations that provide a significant benefit to the donor.

Recently, nearly one million donor records were discovered in an unprotected online database owned by DonorView, a cloud-based donor management tool used by more than 200,000 nonprofit organizations. A cybersecurity researcher discovered the exposed data and reported to DonorView in early October and, although the data was secured several days later, it is unclear how long the information was openly available. 

The data included non-password-protected Excel, CSV, and PDF files and contained detailed information on donors, including contact information, amounts donated, payment methods, and donation history. The exposed database also contained email templates used to communicate with donors, which would provide bad actors with templates for conducting phishing scams.

If your organization uses DonorView, consider contacting to your donors and advising them of a potential exposure. You may suggest for donors to change passwords to financial sites and monitor their accounts for signs of fraud.

The SECURE Act 2.0 that was passed at the end of 2022 included a requirement that catch-up contributions for employees age 50 and older who have a prior-year compensation over $145,000 must be made on a Roth basis rather than a pre-tax basis. This requirement was previously set to take effect as of January 1, 2024; however, on August 25, 2023, the IRS issued guidance delaying the implementation of this requirement until January 1, 2026. 

Beginning July 1, 2023, nonprofits that have operations in Florida should be aware of the new requirements imposed under Florida State Senate Bill 1718 which requires entities with more than 25 employees to verify employment eligibility for each employee using E-Verify, a federal website that uses Form I-9 to determine a worker's employment eligibility. Employers must keep all documentation confirming employment eligibility verification for at least three years.

According to the bill, in the future, employers will need to certify compliance with this new law annually on their first quarterly return of each year. It is expected that the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) will provide additional guidance on this requirement. 

Starting in 2024, DEO will send out notifications to employers that have failed to use E-Verify. Entities that are deemed noncompliant will have 30 days to become compliant or face penalties, interest, and/or possible employer license suspension.

For small plan filers, the general rule is that retirement contributions withheld from employees' paychecks must be remitted to the employee's retirement plan within seven (7) business days from the payroll check date.  However, for those instances when an organization misses the 7-day mark, they must calculate any lost earnings that the employees experienced due to the late remittance and include that amount in the remittance.

To help assist in this calculation, the Department of Labor (DOL) publishes, through their Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), a calculator to determine any lost earnings. 

Keep in mind that the late deposit/lost earnings rule only applies to employee contributions and loan repayments. Organizations should exclude any employer match in the calculation. 

Organizations should work with their retirement plan administrator to ensure the calculation is completed correctly and to assist in filing the proper forms to the Department of Labor showing that the proper steps were taken through the Voluntary Correction procedure. 

For tax years 2020 and 2021, U.S. tax filers were allowed to take an "above-the-line" deduction for charitable contributions up to $300 (or $600 if married and filing jointly). This was in addition to the standard deduction.

The ability to claim charitable contributions in this manner allowed filers who do not itemize their return to lower their taxable income. However, starting with tax year 2022, this "above-the-line" deduction expired.