Is All Volunteering Allowed to be for Free?

Contrary to popular belief, employees may not “volunteer” for anything they choose. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets federal labor standards, employees are only allowed to volunteer in certain situations. Since the volunteering legislation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) defines employment as "to suffer or permit to work," many forms of “volunteering” should actually be compensated.

“Volunteering” must be paid: Under the FLSA, employees may not “volunteer” hours to for-profit private sector employers. This means that employees may not offer to perform work for free at their own place of employment.  These companies are bound to abide by the FLSA, no matter what an individual offers to provide. As exemplified in Business Management Daily, a police officer filed a lawsuit claiming that he should receive payment for all the time it took him to train his police K-9 dogs. He won the suit, with the court ruling that despite his offers of doing the training and care for free, the department was still bound by the FLSA and its regulations on employment and “volunteering.” 

“Volunteering” can be for free: There are multiple situations where true volunteering is allowed to occur. An individual can volunteer for virtually any public sector employer, as there are no barriers to private sector workers volunteering in the public sector. The only restriction is that a public sector employee may not volunteer their time to perform the same task for which they are employed. Individuals are generally allowed to provide their time and efforts for public service, religious organizations, or humanitarian objectives. In this case, these volunteers are not considered employees of the non-profit organizations and do not have to be compensated. 

If you are a non-exempt employee, you are not permitted to offer your time and efforts to your employer without compensation. Since many employers and employees are unaware of this fact, countless individuals are unjustly withheld flat pay for hours worked under 40 hours per week and time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours in a single workweek. If you or a loved one has mistakenly “volunteered” hours to your employer without compensation, or believe that you may be being taken advantage of in some other way, contact a knowledgeable Fair Labor Standards Act lawyer. You may be entitled to back pay for underpayment or unpaid wages and you could even possibly be eligible to receive double damages for your withheld pay.