The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states employers must pay employees for all hours worked. Can employers accept free work? Most private or profit organization cannot accept volunteer, unpaid labor without violating the FLSA.
Volunteer Labor is only allowed at certain non-profits.
The only time volunteer labor is allowed for a not-for-profit, private organization. Here are a couple examples of the rare times volunteer (unpaid) labor is allowed:
- Nonprofit organizations, such as churches, community service organizations, charities, etc., may usually accept volunteer labor as long as there is no implication that the services will be paid.
- In many public companies, volunteers can assist, within limitations. For example, parents may volunteer to help (without compensation) with tasks for their child’s public school, even if these tasks would otherwise be done by a school employee, as long as the individual volunteering is not already a school employee.
Even in those situations, it should be clear that there is no employment relationship, and the person is truly volunteering without any form of compensation to complete the tasks. If a non-profit is in a position to accept volunteer labor, be careful before offering nominal rewards for it. If a non-profit provides compensation for such activities (even noncash items), that could be construed as the same as compensating an employee and the DOL may be likely to view the individual as such as a result.
Remember that employees can’t just voluntarily waive their FLSA rights; just because an employee says s/he doesn’t mind does not make it OK to not abide by the FLSA regulations. You may also be violating state or local labor laws as well, and you could be subject to stiff penalties.