Fair Labor Standards
Act (“FLSA”) provides that true volunteer activities
are not impeded or discouraged while minimizing the
risk that the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime
requirements were being abused by employers. Amending the act in 1985, Congress made clear that a
volunteer may receive “no compensation,” but may be
paid “expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee.”
An individual will be considered a volunteer under the
FLSA if the individual:
(1) performs hours of service for
a public agency for civic, charitable, or humanitarian
reasons, without promise, expectation, or receipt of
compensation for services rendered; although a
volunteer can be paid expenses, reasonable benefits,
or a nominal fee to perform such services;
(2) offers
services freely and without pressure or coercion; and
(3) is not otherwise employed by the same public
agency to perform the same type of services as those
for which the individual proposes to volunteer. This last provision is explored in a newsletter available here.
