President Joe Biden issued an executive order (EO) on Oct. 30, 2023, to establish standards for artificial intelligence (AI) safety and security, protect privacy, advance equity and civil rights, and advocate for consumers and workers. It also seeks to promote innovation and competition and advance American leadership around the world while ensuring responsible and effective government use of AI.
The EO seeks to build on the voluntary commitments of 15 leading companies by:
The EO also seeks to address privacy concerns by calling for the passage of bipartisan data privacy legislation and directs actions to prioritize federal support for accelerating the development and use of privacy-preserving techniques. It calls for action to strengthen privacy-preserving research/technologies and privacy guidance for federal agencies, develop guidelines for federal agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of privacy-preserving techniques, and evaluate how agencies collect and use commercially available information.
To advance equity and civil rights, the EO directs actions to provide clear guidance to landlords, federal benefits programs and federal contractors; address algorithmic discrimination; and ensure fairness in the criminal justice system. In support of workers’ rights, the EO calls for actions to develop principles and best practices, produce a report on AI’s potential impacts on the labor market, and study and identify options for strengthening federal support for workers facing labor disruptions.
In the pursuit of innovation and competition and advancement of American leadership, the EO directs action to catalyze AI research; promote a fair, open and competitive AI ecosystem; and expand the ability of highly skilled immigrants with expertise in critical areas to study, stay and work in the United States through existing authorities. The EO directs action to expand bilateral, multilateral and multistakeholder engagements to collaborate on AI; accelerate the development/implementation of vital AI standards; and promote the safe, responsible and rights-affirming development and deployment of AI abroad.
To ensure responsible and effective government AI use, the EO directs action to issue guidance for agencies’ use of AI, help agencies acquire specified AI products and services, and accelerate the rapid hiring of AI professionals. The White House states the administration will work with allies and partners to govern the development and utilization of AI.
The IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2023-34, which includes cost-of-living adjustments for employee qualified transportation fringe benefits for the 2024 taxable year, along with annually adjusted numbers for 2024 for other tax provisions. The combined monthly limit for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and a transit pass will increase to $315 in 2024, up from the 2023 limit of $300.
The monthly limit in 2024 for qualified parking will also increase to $315 from $300.
Internal Revenue Code Section 132(f) allows employers to offer qualified transportation benefit programs to their employees on a tax-free basis.
Under these programs, employees may have money withheld from their taxable compensation to pay for or reimburse work- related expenses for qualified parking, transit passes and transportation in certain commuter highway vehicles (e.g., qualifying van pools).
Employers may also provide these benefits tax-free to employees.
Section 132(f) establishes a maximum monthly amount of qualified transportation benefits employees may exclude from their income, subject to cost-of-living adjustments announced by the IRS before the beginning of each calendar year.
Both employee pre-tax salary deferrals and employer-paid benefits, if any, count toward the maximum amount.
Beginning in 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the employer tax deduction for qualified transportation benefits. The employer deduction is disallowed regardless of whether the benefits are paid directly by the employer, through a bona fide reimbursement arrangement or through a compensation reduction agreement.
See the IRS News Release for information about the annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including the qualified transportation fringe benefit.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to notify all workers, regardless of their benefits eligibility status, about the availability of the Health Insurance Marketplaces. All employers, with limited exceptions, are required to distribute the notice to new employees within 14 days of hire. The Department of Labor (DOL) provides customizable model notices to inform workers of their health insurance coverage options.
Updated model notices for employers that offer a health plan and that do not offer a health plan are available on the DOL website in English and Spanish.
The model notices have an expiration date of November 30, 2023. The previous versions expired on July 31, 2023, August 31, 2023, September 30, 2023, and October 31, 2023.
Nothing to report this month…
12/5 – 2022 EEO-1 Component 1 Filing Deadline
12/29 – Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation (Group Health Plans, insurers, and insurance brokers) – more information, click here.
Nothing for this Month
2/1 – Deadline for Posting OSHA Form 300A
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