Blogs

Nonprofit/ Exempt Organizations

What Is Worrying Our Nonprofit Clients – Part IV: When Cybersecurity Risks Become Mission Risks

As part four of our series on what keeps our nonprofit clients up at night, we turn to security and operational risk. For nonprofits operating with limited resources, stretched staff, and lean administrative teams, a cyber incident can quickly become much more than an IT problem. A serious data or cyber breach can interrupt services, expose sensitive information, drain financial resources, damage donor confidence, and consume management attention at the worst possible time.

September 28, 2026

Nonprofit/ Exempt Organizations

When Can Nonprofit Employees Volunteer for Their Employer?

Nonprofit employees are often deeply committed to the mission of the organizations they serve. That commitment sometimes leads an employee to offer to help at a fundraising event, participate in a weekend program, or perform other services without pay. The offer may be entirely sincere. It also may create an unexpected wage-and-hour problem for your nonprofit organization.

September 28, 2026

Employment Law

When Is a Lunch Break Really Off the Clock? New DOL Guidance on Compensable Meal Periods

In our recent blog on compensable travel time, we examined when an employee’s commute stops being ordinary travel and becomes work time that must be paid by the employer. That question is part of a larger -- and frequently frustrating -- Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) problem: When is an employee actually working?

September 28, 2026

Nonprofit/ Exempt Organizations

The IRS May Redraw the Tax-Exemption Line for Private Schools

The federal government is now approaching tax-exempt status for private schools from a different direction. Rather than treating Section 501(c)(3) status as federal financial assistance, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service have proposed regulations that would condition the exemption itself on a broad prohibition against race-based policies and practices.

September 28, 2026

Employment Law

Virginia's Minimum Wage Rises to $13.75 on January 1, 2027: What Employers Need to Know

Virginia employers should start preparing to pay hourly workers more money next year. Effective January 1, 2027, the Virginia minimum wage will increase to $13.75 per hour. In addition, on that same date, an exemption that has excluded farm laborers from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act since its enactment disappears. And both changes take effect against the Virginia Wage Payment Act, which was materially expanded earlier this year.

September 28, 2026

Business Planning

Should Your Business Align with the Federal Fiscal Year?

Government contractors tend to think in federal time. Pipeline reviews, proposal calendars, staffing plans, and cash flow projections often follow the rhythm of the federal fiscal year — October 1 through September 30 — because that is when agencies receive their funding and spend it.

September 22, 2026

Land Use & Zoning

Virginia's July 1 Zoning Changes Already Bind Fairfax County. The Zoning Ordinance Has Not Caught Up.

Virginia’s July 1, 2026 Code amendments now bind Fairfax County applications for data centers, housing, parking, solar, storage, and wireless infrastructure, even before the Zoning Ordinance is updated. Hearings remain unscheduled.

August 26, 2026

Land Use & Zoning

Virginia's Faith in Housing Act: What Tax-Exempt Landowners Should Be Doing Before January 1, 2027

Virginia's 2026 General Assembly enacted companion bills HB 1279 and SB 388 (2026 Acts of Assembly, cc. 1096 and 1009), the Faith in Housing Act, adding § 15.2-2288.9 to the Code of Virginia. Localities must permit qualifying mixed-use or residential projects by right on land owned by property tax-exempt religious organizations and certain 501(c)(3) nonprofits, without rezoning, special use permit, or other discretionary approval.

August 26, 2026

Employment Law

Virginia Has a New Pay Transparency Law: What Employers Need to Know

The law does more than require employers to disclose compensation information in job postings. It also restricts employer inquiries into wage and salary history, limits how employers can use voluntarily disclosed pay history, creates specific anti-retaliation protections, and provides both public and private enforcement mechanisms.

August 18, 2026

Employment Law

When Does an Employee’s Commute Become Work Time You Have to Pay For? DOL Draws New Lines for Hybrid and Field Employees

New DOL opinion letters clarify when employee commute and travel time is compensable under the FLSA, offering guidance for Virginia employers managing hybrid schedules, remote work, field employees, and non-exempt wage-and-hour compliance.

August 18, 2026