Summer 2005

What's New at the Pro Bono Partnership

• The Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta is open for business!  Click Here for more information.  The website for the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta is: www.PBPATL.org. 

• The Pro Bono Partnership celebrated its successful expansion to New Jersey five years ago with a breakfast reception on June 23^rd to honor clients, volunteers and supporters.  Kathleen DiChiara, Founder and Executive Director of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, was the guest speaker. See Photos.

What's New on the Pro Bono Partnership's Website?

• Pro Bono Partnership's 2004 Annual Report is now available on line.  Click here.  The Partnership is very grateful to Johnson & Johnson for underwriting the cost of printing the hard copy edition of our Annual Report.  If you would like to receive a hard copy version of the report by mail, please email your request to information@probonopartnership.org.

(To access the online version of the report, you need to have Adobe Reader, or another PDF reader, installed on your computer.  To download a free version of Adobe Reader, click: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html)

Our website article: "Helpful Internet Resources for Nonprofits," now includes a link to an "Accountability Checklist" issued by the Independent Sector, Click Here, and to a sample Whistleblower Act Policy and Document Destruction checklist proposed by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations to address concerns about nonprofit compliance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Click Here. 

Legal Alerts and Recent Developments

Federal: 

• Military Leave: Employees Must Be notified of Rights Under USERRA: As of March 2005, all employers are required to notify employees of their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 USC Section 4301 et seq., (USERRA) which include the right of military personnel to return to their civilian jobs with the same pay, benefits and status that they would have attained had they not been called to military duty, provided certain requirements are met.  A downloadable version of a poster which can be used to notify employees is available at the DOL website.

• Revised Application Form For Tax-Exempt Status:   IRS Form 1023:   The IRS has revised the exemption application form for section 501(c)(3) organizations, Form 1023, and its instructions. As of April 2005, organizations seeking tax exempt status must file using the new application form.  Organizations that are already tax-exempt may be interested by the new questions posed by the IRS on the new form, such as those concerning how charities determine appropriate employee compensation.  Click Here to access the new form on the IRS website.

• Click Here for instructions for the new form which includes a sample Conflict of Interest Policy.

• Proposed Reforms in the Charitable Sector:    The most up-to-date news about the status of proposed reforms in the charitable sector can be found on the Independent Sector's website: www.independentsector.org.  Among the proposals under consideration are revisions to IRS Form 990, a 5-year review by the IRS of exempt status, and new thresholds for when an independent audit will be required.  The nonprofit sector's final report on the proposed charitable reforms recommends more than 120 actions to be taken by charitable organizations, by Congress, and by the Internal Revenue Service, which together would strengthen the sector's transparency, governance, and accountability.  Click Here to view the final report, issued June 22, 2005.

New York:

• Amendment to NY State Annual Financial Filing Requirements:   The annual financial filing process in NY has been streamlined.  A new form, the "CHAR500", replaces three forms that a charity was previously required to file:  the Annual Financial report (CHAR 497), Annual Filing Exemption (CHAR006), and Officer Certification (CHAR010).  Visit the State Attorney General's website or Click Here for a link to the CHAR500 in downloadable form.

• Charities Bureau Registry Search Available Online:    The NYS Charities Bureau maintains an on-line searchable database registry containing approximately 50,000 nonprofit organizations that are required to register under New York Law. The on-line Registry is a useful tool to check if an organization's charitable registration is current.  Click Here for a link to the on-line searchable database registry.

• NY Department of State Corporations Search:   Click Here to access the NY Department of State, Corporation and Business Entity Database, where you can search for a specific nonprofit corporation that is registered in NY State.

• Increase in Minimum Wage:    As of January 1, 2005, the New York State minimum wage has increased to $6.00/hour from $5.15/hour. This will continue to increase to $6.75/hour in January 2006, and then to $7.15/hour in January 2007.

Connecticut:

• Connecticut Passes Significant Amendments to the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, effective October 1, 2005  that will require charities to annually renew their registration with revised forms.  Click Here for more details. 

• To find information on charitable organizations filed pursuant to the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, call the CT Public Charities Unit at (860) 808-5030.

• Of interest to in-house corporate volunteers who are CT licensed but do not practice in Connecticut, and who have declared that they are exempt from the State of CT occupational tax:  A recent publication by the State of Connecticut, Department of Revenue Services regarding Attorney Occupational Tax and Client Security Fund Fee , IP 2004(38),  states that: "If you are exempt from the attorney occupational tax, performing pro bono legal services in Connecticut for no consideration . . . does not change [the attorney's] exempt status."  Click Here to read the ruling.

• Connecticut Secretary of State Corporations Search:  Click Here to access the CT Secretary of State CONCORD system which contains information on CT nonprofit corporations. The system can be used to update information and perform annual registrations online.

• Increase in Minimum Wage in 2006:  The current minimum wage in Connecticut is $7.10/hour. As of January 1, 2006, this will be increased to $7.40/hour.

New Jersey:

• New Requirements for Nonprofit Health Care Agencies:  New Jersey recently passed what is known as the "Cullen" Act (official name is the Health Care Professional Responsibility and Reporting Enhancement Act, P.L. 2005, Chapter 83 that increases reporting requirements for health care facilities, (including mental health providers) with respect to their healthcare professionals. Health Care facilities are required to provide the state with written notice whenever a healthcare professional is considered impaired or dangerous to patients, and to conduct background checks on their workers. The law also imposes a "duty to warn" if a health care professional is considered impaired or dangerous and it provides some immunity protection for Healthcare facilities and their workers for good faith disclosures. 

• Late Fees for Charitable Registration:  Late fees will now be imposed on charities that fail to renew their annual registration with the Division of Consumer Affairs within six months of the end of their fiscal year.  Late fees will also be imposed on paid professional fundraising consultants, who must register by July 1st of each year.

●       Minimum Wage Increased.  An increase in New Jersey's minimum hourly wage from $5.15 to $7.15 will be phased in over the next two years.  Effective October 1, 2005 the minimum wage will increase to $6.15 per hour. On October 1, 2006, the minimum wage will increase to $7.15 per hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Every day nonprofits call the Partnership's office with questions about how the law impacts day-to-day operations.  New questions addressed in this issue include:

• How many board members should a charity have?
• Do we need an Affirmative Action Policy?
• What's the difference between a "trustee" and a "director?"
• Can we compensate our board members?
•  Does a child care center have to accommodate a child with a disability?
• Can a US-based charity make grants to a foreign charity? 

By following this link to the Partnership's website, you can review our staff attorneys' responses to these and other frequently asked questions.  Click Here  

Upcoming Workshops

The Pro Bono Partnership offers LEGAL EDUCATION WORKSHOPS designed for staff and board members of nonprofit organizations.  Click here for a preview of topics to be offered in the Fall of 2005.

The information provided in this email newsletter was prepared by Pro Bono Partnership for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter; nor does the distribution or receipt of this e-newsletter signify an attorney-client relationship between Pro Bono Partnership and the recipient.  The content of this e-newsletter is subject to copyright protection.