A trustee of a nonprofit private secondary school is not an “agent” subject to protection from retaliation under the federal False Claims Act, a federal District Court in South Carolina has ruled. The trustee’s claim has been dismissed on summary judgment.
The Internal Revenue Service has joined with two Evangelical churches in Texas and the National Religious Broadcasters in proposing a settlement of their litigation to overturn the so-called “Johnson Amendment” to the Tax Code that prohibits churches and other charities from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. (See Nonprofit Issues®, Vol. XXXIV, No. 4)
Directors of a Minnesota nonprofit corporation who were sued by another director for defamation are immune from liability under the state’s volunteer immunity law, an appellate court in Minnesota has ruled. The director’s claim for vicarious liability of the corporation has also been denied because the organization had already dissolved.
The U.S. Supreme Court, as expected, has reversed a decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and held that the Catholic Charities Bureau and four affiliates in Superior WI qualify for the religious exemption to the state unemployment compensation law. In a unanimous decision, the Court had held that the state court’s interpretation of the rule does not survive strict scrutiny under the First Amendment.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has clarified its standard for determining whether a charity should lose its state charitable tax exemption for violating its requirement to operate “entirely free” from private profit motive. It has held that an executive compensation bonus based in part on the economic results of a hospital is permissible where the total compensation is reasonable and is within the fair market value when compared to similar executives in similar institutions.
The National Council of Nonprofits, which has been in the forefront of challenging the “pauses” and cutbacks in federal contracts for nonprofit organizations under the Trump Administration, has warned of numerous threats to nonprofits in the Tax Bill being considered by the House of Representatives. It has urged nonprofits to contact their legislators to oppose new taxes and to support new incentives for charitable giving.
